The Divine Embrace

In honor of this holy day, I have re-edited and re-posted this.

The Passion. I've read it every year, over and over since I was a small child. That Palm Sunday it was different. The familiar words became personal. Jesus died in my place - for me - so I might live. Overwhelmed, I bowed my head, tears streaming down my face. 

One moment I was listening to the sermon, the next I was standing in a white void. To my right stood a figure in white.  He opened His arms and beckoned me. Without hesitation I ran to Him and was enfolded into a tight embrace. I snuggled deeper, pressing my cheek against His chest. The material was coarse, like burlap, not the soft linen I had expected. 

The thought was fleeting, overpowered by a joy unlike anything I had ever experienced. I wanted nothing, needed nothing. There was no sorrow. No tears. No pain or anguish. The World didn't exist. Only Him.

Sadly, unbidden and unwelcomed, my past transgressions- sins - paraded against my closed eyelids. I stepped back, my head hanging in shame. I wasn't worthy to look at Him let alone touch Him.

Gently He urged me to look up. His eyes held no accusations, only unconditional love. He loved me just as I was, flawed and imperfect. It didn't matter how many times I failed, only how hard I tried. It was the effort that counted.

I reached for Him, but was stopped. The Man of Sorrows directed my gaze to my left. A huge pit of white-hot flames roared beneath black, roiling smoke. I could feel the intense heat from where I stood. I had to walk through the flames, not as a punishment for my sins, but as a natural part of my life. I would endure great pain.

"I can't. The pain will be too great."

"You must."

Obedient, I stepped into the inferno and braced for a horrific blast of heat. Instead, I felt His hand reach through the flames and grasp mine. As long as I held onto Him - my faith - the flames would never burn me and He would be waiting on the other side.

I was back in my pew. The impression of His garment remained on my skin. The aura of peace, ecstasy, still lingered. 

From that moment, He was with me in ways I had never experienced before. He was everywhere - in the smallest details of my life as well as the crises, the trials, the infernos. Granted, I felt a little heat now and then, but I was never burned. I set my eyes toward the other side, where He was waiting - for me.