Jesus is Emmanuel , "God with Us"

In the academic/theological setting, I truly find the idea of Jesus being God (yes, the Son of God, but as part of the Trinity, He is truly God) to be super challenging.  Personally, I know it's true whenever I think about the Eucharist - He's REALLY present there, in a different way than He is present in other aspects of life.  Definitely not something I can explain well tonight - all I know is that, when I see the Eucharist, my heart opens up, and I know I'm gazing at Jesus, who is gazing back at me.  The only way it's really Jesus there is because He's God.  Period.  However, my mind has been thinking more lately and wants an explanation that I can express in words and not just feelings.  Jesus never said that He was God - He said He was "the way, the truth, and the life," but He never outright says "I am God."  And how can He be fully human and fully God?  Did He know from the moment that He was born that He was God?  Now, I've had quite a few thoughts on the human-and-God question, but here are a couple that I thought were cool enough to write about:

In  Jesus the Christ, Walter Kasper says, "The Son is the person who submits himself unreservedly in obedience to God.  Thus he is wholly and entirely transparent for God; his obedience is the form in which God is substantially present.  Obedience effected and brought about by God himself is the historical mode of existence and manifestation of the divine Sonship.  In his obedience Jesus is the setting forth of God's nature."  This totally makes sense to me.  Of course!  How is Jesus the Son of God, therefore being God?  This is a great way to start thinking about it.  (Sidenote - this is totally an extra book for my Mystery of JC class.  I am officially a nerd. lol.)

I also thought of Mary.  If you want to get to really know a person, you look to their parents, and especially their mom, right?  It tends to explain a lot!  The angel of the Lord told Mary told her she was to conceive the Son of God.  The angel also reminds her that nothing is impossible for God - so why can't Jesus be fully, authentically human and fully, authentically God?  God can do anything!  And Mary was the one who was upbringing Jesus - she was told who He was, how His kingdom would have no end - so she would be able to steer her son, as a human, toward His ministry and everything (think Wedding at Cana).  And she was told to name Him Emmanuel, which means "God with us."  How much clearer could the angel get?  Jesus was humble, and He didn't want to be persecuted by the authorities before it was the right time, so He didn't go boasting about His mission - then God wouldn't have been able to work through Him.

And God is alive in us, right?  We don't always let Him work through us, but when we do, awesome things happen.  Jesus was different - He ALWAYS let God work through Him.  We are freer the closer we get to God, more authentically human since He made us as His creatures with free will.  Jesus was the most free, most authentic human because He was as close as possible to God - He was God.  (A lot of people could ask why Mary isn't God.  Sure, she was sinless and let God work through her, but she is not the one that achieved our salvation.  Remember the Old Testament teachings & prophesies and the Paschal Mystery, which then leads you back to the Eucharist.  Plus, Jesus was "begotten, not made" - Mary was made a creation like we were, even though she had no original sin.)

Also, the Nicene Creed totally defines how Jesus is God (and human, for that matter).  His Father is God, His mother is Mary/human, so He is both divine and human.  No one else has that combination of parents!

There's also this thing called faith... the mind will never be totally satisfied with the answer, it's truly a mystery.  Jesus lived up to His name 100% of the time - God was, and is, with us through belief in Him.  Absolutely amazing.