Passionate Love

Passion is something we are all familiar with. Our culture projects passion in many ways: sex, sports, money... We are supposed to give 100% to our job, our spouse, our family, our community. We are supposed to be passionate about everything we do in our lives. It's always conveyed as the way things are supposed to be.

This is one of those rare instances where you will hear me say that our culture is actually getting it right, although it has misplaced the focus.

The first reading at Mass today is from either the Song of Songs or the prophet Zephaniah, depending on your parish. Both readings demonstrate my point. The first describes the passion of two lovers for each other, which alludes to the message, while the second reading gets right to the point. Here they are:

Sg 2:8-14

Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!

“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”

or

Zep 3:14-18a

Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals.


The key verse for me when I was reading these today was Zephaniah 3:17, right at the end there. Here we are, preparing for the birth of His son in four short days, and God is saying how he will rejoice over us! God sacrifices himself to become one of his created beings in order to save us from our own stupid, selfish, arrogant, hateful choices, and yet He still says that, even in this, he rejoices over us, sings over us, loves us.

That is passion. That is what we were created for and what we are called to live for.

Do you misplace your passion? Have you lost it altogether? Read those verses again, understand how much passion God has for you, and cry for joy with me.