Jesus did not help angels but rather the descendants of Abraham; therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every way. One of the Eucharistic prayers says it this way: Jesus is “like us in all things but sin.” What are the implications? Since learning is part of being human, Jesus had to learn. We see this dramatically presented in the story of his encounter with the Syro-phoenecian woman. He learned that is mission was larger than he had intially thought. Since we have to cope with our families that don’t understand us, Jesus had the same experience. Several times in the gospels Jesus resisted the efforts of his relatives to put him in a pre-determined box. Since we must learn to cope with our reluctance and doubts, Jesus did as well. Think of the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was second guessing the trajectdory in which he found himself. Jesus was “tested” as we are by becoming tired, frustrated, angry, misunderstood, judged, grieved. He never let those feelings blossom into sin. Jesus can relate to what we’re going through.
