A Reflection for the Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Find today’s readings here.
“One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 27:4)
One of my favorite scenes from the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is when Captain America meets Thor in “The Avengers.” I’ve got kids, so I’ve seen the movie more times than I can count. Black Widow tells Captain America that Thor and Loki are “basically gods.”
He responds, “There’s only one God, Ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”
I still laugh every time. And I agree with the sentiment: I’m not God. And neither are you. And I’m comfortable with that.
What makes me uncomfortable is this: “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.”
We become God? Isn’t that original sin? It sounds like heresy to me, but that is actually a line from The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§460). It’s a quote from St. Athanasius, a bishop and doctor of the church, whose feast we celebrate today.
Later, the Catechism quotes St. Athanasius again: “[God] gave himself to us through his Spirit. By the participation of the Spirit, we become communicants in the divine nature. . . . For this reason, those in whom the Spirit dwells are divinized” (§1988).
At first, this talk of divinization makes me uncomfortable because, as I said, I’m certain I am not God. We commit idolatry when we honor or revere anything in the place of God (CCC §2113). But St. Athanasius isn’t saying the indwelling of the Holy Spirit makes us the God who always was and always will be. What he is saying is that we can (and should) partake in the divine nature of God—and that has implications (see 2 Peter 1:3-11, for example). If I can partake in God’s divine nature, I can’t use “I’m only human” as an excuse anymore.
Divinization is not about our own glory, but God’s. I believe that we can only partake in God’s divine nature through a complete self-emptying, a death of self. It is through this kind of death that we rise with Christ. St. Paul puts it succinctly: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
I believe that a power greater than myself can restore me. I’ve seen God do that in my own life and in the lives of those who are close to me. But I have a harder time accepting the invitation to participate in God’s divine nature. I understand this is the way, but it is so hard to let go.
What does it truly mean to be a child of God? What will God ask of me? How will I answer?
