Two Kinds of Loneliness
In the spiritual life we have to make a distinction between two kinds of loneliness. In the first loneliness, we are out of touch with God and experience ourselves as anxiously looking for someone or something that can give us a sense of belonging, intimacy, and home. The second loneliness comes from an intimacy with God that is deeper and greater than our feelings and thoughts can capture.
We might think of these two kinds of loneliness as two forms of blindness. The first blindness comes from the absence of light, the second from too much light. The first loneliness we must try to outgrow with faith and hope. The second we must be willing to embrace in love.
Jesus’ Loneliness
When Jesus came close to his death, he no longer could experience God’s presence. He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:47). Still, in love he held on to the truth that God was with him and said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).
The loneliness of the cross led Jesus to the resurrection. As we grow older we are often invited by Jesus to follow him into this loneliness, the loneliness in which God is too close to be experienced by our limited hearts and minds. When this happens, let us pray for the grace to surrender our spirits to God as Jesus did.
All People Lifted Up with Jesus
The death and resurrection of Jesus are God’s way to open for all people the door to eternal life. Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I shall draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). Indeed, all people, from all times and places, are lifted up with Jesus on the cross and into the new life of the resurrection. Thus, Jesus’ death is a death for all humanity, and Jesus’ resurrection is a resurrection for all humanity.
Not one person from the past, present, or future is excluded from the great passage of Jesus from slavery to freedom, from the land of captivity to the Promised Land, from death to eternal life.
~From Henri J.M. Nouwen, Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith
