DRAWING NEAR – MK 1:29-39
Jesus, you draw near to us,
you lovingly and tenderly approach,
taking our hand and raising us up.
And this closeness, this proximity to us
—your drawing near in loving compassion—
makes you like a magnet, drawing hearts,
in return, to approach you in their thirst.
In this physical movement, Jesus,
of your coming close to us in love
which awakens in return our search for you—
in this we see the inner mystery of the Incarnation.
You come, humbly and gently,
espousing yourself to our very humanity
and taking into yourself our hope and our pain.
This movement-out from yourself to us
is at the same moment an acceptance of us by you,
a welcoming of us into your inmost Heart.
And this, Jesus, is what makes you
so attractive for every one whom you encounter,
such that when you try to escape away,
in the early hours of the morning, to pray,
we seek you out, because we want you,
and thirst to be in your presence
and to feel your healing touch.
And thus you can do nothing but carry,
in yourself, this tension,
between closeness to us
and solitude with the Father.
Indeed, if we only knew
that the thing we really seek,
the reality for which our hearts thirst,
is that intimate solitude and silent intimacy
that is yours, beloved Son, in the Father’s embrace.
You approach us from this place,
yet without leaving the Father’s bosom,
and in all your thoughts, your acts, your words,
you radiate with the beauty of this mystery.
Some perhaps see only physical healing
or signs and wonders—lesser things.
But then are there not also hearts
which discern beyond all that you do
the mystery, dear Jesus, of who you are?
These hearts, touched by your Beauty,
ravishing in its immensity
yet gentle in its humility and it purity,
yearn to draw near to you,
not so much for what you can do,
but for who you, Beloved, are in yourself.
They yearn simply to be in your presence,
to drink in the torrent of your love—
yes, to gaze upon that face, that figure,
and to look deep into those eyes.
Experiencing your love, Jesus,
they come to know the love of the Father,
and this love, this love, alone is life…
this love that binds together, eternally,
the three Blessed Persons in perfect unity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And what, then, is our deepest thirst,
and the healing of our every wound, but this?
To be immersed into the heart of that embrace,
that intimate solitude and solitary intimacy
which is the place of perfect communion
and of blessed and sacred love:
the inner sanctuary of embrace
where the Breath of the Spirit passes,
eternally, between the Father and the Son,
in that dialogue of tenderness,
where each says to the other:
Beloved, I love you and delight in you.
And what? And what!
We find ourselves caught up
right into this very place,
hearing these words echo in us too,
vibrating through our whole being
and thrilling it with joy:
Beloved, I love you and delight in you.