We remember the dark times of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. Wasn't it even more complicated when the Mass times were canceled? However, social distancing also helped us in reverse. When the Earth stopped, the natural ecosystem came back to life. It was an opportunity to confirm how much humans have tormented the environment.
Social distancing also gave us much to consider in our interpersonal relationships. Wearing masks and keeping our distance, we realized that we had been too close, that we had been too involved in each other's lives, and that we had been treating each other based on our wishes. How much hurt had we caused each other, and how we had been shrinking from the pain and avoiding relationships? Human relationships require an appropriate amount of distance. That distance has the creative power to reflect on relationships and move toward better ones.
From this perspective, the story of the fall of humanity is very interesting. In the beginning, God created man and woman and allowed them to eat fruit from all the trees in the garden. Still, he strongly warned them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:17). However, man was deceived by the serpent and ended up eating the fruit. This incident, which the church calls "original sin," also contains wisdom and experience about human existence and life. There are lines in human life that must not be crossed and things that must not be done, and when ignored, we are hurt, and society suffers. If we apply this to human relationships, it would be a message to never touch the noble personality and freedom of the other person but to keep a distance and respect and care for them.
Just as an appropriate distance is necessary for human relationships, keeping a distance from one's life also enriches life. Daily prayers, Masses, retreats, etc., are small but significant moments where we keep a distance from ourselves. Distancing ourselves becomes a creative time to stay with the Lord, and it gives us the wisdom and courage to overcome our old emotions, wounds, and painful moments and to stand up anew.
At this point, how about thinking about 'God's distancing'? Through the incarnation, God came to us, overcoming the infinite distance. He did not just come to us but became a human being just like us and lived among us. However, He still needs to completely eliminate the distance. It was to allow humans to freely walk toward Him so that love and friendship could sprout, grow, and bear fruit.
When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, the first thing he said to her was 'greeting' (Luke 1:28-29). God respects human freedom and personality, so He does not pressure or force. He greets and waits for humans to respond on their own.
Jesus was the same. He did not force but approached people and became their friends and neighbors. He listened to their life stories, shared with them the pains and sufferings, the joys and ecstasies of life, and reached out to them, hoping they would take courage and stand up and walk with him. "Come and see" (Jn 1:39). These words were an invitation to the communion of love that he shared with the Father, an invitation to a new love.
Jesus comes to us today and knocks quietly on the door of our hearts. Suppose we can break away from our daily lives and distance ourselves from our emotions and disturbances. In that case, we will encounter the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, who caresses and comforts our souls. We will be sensitive to the internal movements within us that have longed and waited for the Spirit.
