Maybe if our love loses the last of its interest in anything it might get in return, maybe then we’ll find ourselves alive at last, in that eternal kingdom Jesus kept telling us has been right here among us all along.
“Because a night creeps through the day.” Because this is how it is. And this world of distorted and destructive power, of fear turned to anger and rage. On a grand scale, how the forces of control can conspire to crush what it will not allow. And in the smaller worlds we inhabit, where this simple unraveling of what we counted on sends us into a parallel universe marked by loneliness and gloom. Because the night is creeping through every day.
It’s a love that will even set aside its own seat at the table, set aside its privilege, its power, even its precious dignity if need be, so it can kneel down and give of itself for the sake of its beloved, no matter how dusty and looked down upon the actual physical work of love may be.
But more than an itinerary for these next seven days, we have a map that will help us on those other sojourns, the ones when we can’t see beyond the bend in the road. Because this isn’t just a map of Jerusalem. It’s a map of all the places that God goes.