We often prefer an idealized Jesus who floats above the struggles of ordinary life. But the authentic Jesus of two thousand years ago was fully human. He was hungry, tired, misunderstood and moved to tears.
That is not a lesser story — it is good news. If Jesus experienced everything we experience, then nothing about our humanity is outside the reach of God’s presence.
When we recover the human Jesus, we stop trying to escape our humanity and start learning to live it fully, with love as our guide.