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During the Vocation Jamboree 2010 at the University of San Jose ? Recolletos, Basak Campus, some high school students from St. Scholastica Academy performed a very meaningful presentation. While their band played the song ?Everything? by the Lifehouse, their performing arts group did a pantomime. The mime?s storyline is about God?s patient love. The scene opens with God?s symbolic creation of man as portrayed by a woman. God does everything for her right from the start of her first heartbeat. He taught her to move and provided her all she needs for survival. There was a beautiful relationship between God and man that brought joy and happiness.
But along the way, she gets involved in other relationships. A rupture develops in the once ideal and happy relationship. God has been cast aside. Soon the gap becomes a chasm so deep and so far that she turns to different vices in search of happiness: money, alcohol and sex. But instead of finding peace the more she becomes depressed. She seeks self-destructive behavior to the point of ending her life. And then she realizes that the only way for her to find peace and happiness is to go back to her former true love: God.
Now she is determined to stand up and seek God. But all the vices and forces of evil prevent her from drawing near to God. She is pulled back. All the more she struggles to return but the attempts seem futile. However, the struggle purifies her as her black shirt is torn and a white shirt is exposed. All her efforts are in vain and she lay helpless. She turns to prayer. And all the while God has been patiently waiting and pulling her to come back to Him. All his pleas for attention have been rejected. And when He dies on the cross He is able to intervene for her redemption by taking upon himself the cudgels of evil. In the end God?s patient love triumphs over all evil and sin. God?s cross defeats them all and restores the broken relationship between man and Himself. All is well again. Man is back in God?s arms experiencing joy, forgiveness and justification.
This evocative and engaging pantomime teaches us that God loves man so much that He does not give up on us when we are lost. He patiently waits for us and even seeks us out to redeem us. He intervenes for our own good. This same message is again dramatically repeated in this season of Lent. In God?s great love for us he is willing to give up his only Son before he gives up on us. If God is ever patient it is certainly directed for our salvation.
Indeed Scripture is replete with examples of God?s amazing love for us. One inspiring book of the Bible to read during this Lenten Season is the book of the prophet Hosea.
It?s a love story ? real, tragic and true. The story tells of the young Hosea who fell in love with a beautiful but unfaithful woman named Gomer. He married her and they had children. But she would also cause him many heartaches because Gomer would lose interest in him and run after other lovers. Yet he did not give up on her and continued to love her unconditionally. Such is God?s love for Israel ? steadfast and committed. Such too is Jesus? love for humankind. Despite our repeated sin He gives us chances to reform and return.
As we come closer to the Holy Week when we recall the tragic events that brought Jesus to his death, we are invited to reflect on our own relationship with God.
Like Gomer, we can actually chase after other loves ? love for power, pleasure, position, prosperity or prestige. We are strongly tempted to exchange God for lesser gods, to choose the apparent good from the greatest Good. We are tempted to compromise our Christian lifestyle to embrace and practice the ways of the world. And as always, the good news is: God?s love is constant and persistent.
Like a jealous lover He does not lose heart when we spurn His love. He continues to believe in us and gives us hope.
No matter how far we have strayed, God?s allows a U-turn for us if only we are humble and repentant for His love never fails.
