What is man that you are mindful of him

What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:5)

It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. Instead, someone has testified somewhere: What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower that the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, subjecting all things under his feet. In “subjecting” all things to him, he left nothing not “subject to him.” Yet at present we do not see “all things subject to him,” but we do see Jesus “crowned with glory and honor” because he suffered death, he who “for a little while” was made “lower than the angels,” that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them “brothers” saying: I will proclaim your name to my brethren, in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. (Heb 2,5-12)

Please come back often in your meditations to the above passage from the Letter to the Hebrews. Particular attention is drawn in this passage to the quotation from Psalm 8 “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor, subjecting all things under his feet.”. This passage, which is also the title of today's meditation, indicates the dignity of the human person in the eyes of God. Both the psalmist and the author of the Letter to the Hebrews marvel at the greatness of man.

We often do not see our own dignity. We like to plunge into holes, complexes, constantly demanding a lot from ourselves and not seeing that we are really valuable. We have a lot of talent, and we can really do great things. When we do not discover our own dignity, we sink into sadness. This sadness will distort our vision not only of ourselves, but of the world around us. We will not be able to enjoy life, draw from it, look with hope into the future. In this way, we will become a bundle of nerves. And on top of that, we will poison the lives of others. There are many such people around us. They cannot see their value. And this "negative energy" they spread around.

On the other hand, people who know their value. People who have discovered their own dignity. They are amazing. When you meet such a person, you feel better yourself. His life is a testimony to you. As a consequence, you also look at yourself differently. And looking at it differently, better on yourself, you're on the verge of looking better at everyone around you.

In this passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is also mentioned. In him the fullness of glory was revealed. The reality that was revealed with His coming into the world is so amazing that no words, even of the greatest poet will not fully convey it.

For this reason, He is not ashamed to call them “brothers” saying: I will proclaim your name to my brethren, in the midst of the assembly I will praise you. Man has been called the brother of the Son of God...

God chose to become man... He humbled himself, he was born like all of us. He was born in a specific place and time. He took his place in history, in our history. Finally, he was crowned with glory and honor for the sufferings of death. And that is why “In subjecting all things to him, he left nothing not subject to him.”

The dignity of the brothers and sisters of the Son of God surpasses all imagination. It surpassed the imagination of the inspired authors, but even today after 2000 years, we still cannot understand these things. Our amazement at the mysteries that we experienced not so long ago, amazement at the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God should provoke us to study the mysteries of God even more deeply. It should motivate us to enter into the holy things of God...

Remember... The Son of God became man so that we could enter into God's Family. That we may be sanctified.

Until Tomorrow

fr. george