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I had some free time some days ago, so I visited the house of a cousin. I recall that time now because of my encounter with my niece, the 19-year-old daughter of my cousin. Her mother and I were talking when she arrived from school. Immediately, her mother told me, “That niece of yours already has a suitor. She might be getting married soon.”
As soon as she came in, my niece did not even bother with her mother. She went directly to the phone and called her boyfriend. They talked for a long, long time.
I had dinner with them that night. Over dinner, I casually asked her, “Who was that you were talking to?” She said, “A friend.”
I told her, “Your mother was telling me he brings you home.” Upon which she countered, “So, what’s wrong with being brought home or with talking to somebody on the phone?”
That incident really struck me because it is characteristic of people who are in love. People who love each other do not like to be separated even just for a short while. People who are in love always want to be together by phone, by letters, and more so, physically.
You have experienced that. I have also experienced that. We always want to be with the one we love. I say that because, I believe, that was the same experience of Moses.
Moses fell in love with God and he wanted God to be always by the side of his people. He erected a tent to symbolize the presence of God among his people. But, it was a presence that was continually moving because the Israelites were moving towards the Promised Land.
Moses put up the tent, which is the symbol of God’s presence and God’s love among His people. Each time the people moved, the tent moved with the people. This means that God is not a god of places. God is a god who loves people. That is good news for us.
Moses and his people fell in love with God, and God fell in love with the Israelites. That was why they were always together. Like people who are in love, they hate the experience of being separated from each other, even for a short time.
The Lord wants to express his love for us. But like the God of Moses, the God of Abraham, the God of Jacob and Isaac, this same God hates the idea of being separated from us. That is why the God that we worship is not only the God of the EDSA Shrine. He is also the God of our garage. He is also the God of our bedroom. He is also the God of our kitchen. He is also the God of our office. He is God of all these places and after this Mass, God will be with us wherever we go.
God, our lover, hates the idea of being separated from us, His beloved.
God detests the idea of being separated from us. May we also, like faithful and true lovers, hate the idea of being separated from God.
ON FALLING IN LOVE
Exodus 36:8-19
Only Jesus, Always Jesus
