Long absent from the house, its owner returned but the servants of the house no longer recognized Him. He had become a stranger to them. In their eyes, He was just a meddlesome intruder intent on interrupting the complacency of their way of life; so, they tortured and killed Him. Or so they thought. Both He and His love for His servants survived the brutal baptism into which they immersed Him. Then their eyes were opened. They recognize and remembered Him. Happy are the servants of the house whose owner loves them despite their wickedness.
The thirty-three Visit of the Son of God to us at and about the city of Jerusalem in a region of the world called the Middle East more than two thousand years ago was an apocalypse. It revealed the nature of God. The Visit tore in twain the veil that hid from us the nature of God. The thirty-three Visit told us many things about the nature of God.
His birth spoke to the humility of God. The Son of God came amongst us not on a level above us as befits God but with us on the same level as us - as one of us - an equal to us in our humanity - a partner with us in our suffering. The Son of God rubbed elbows with us. They say He pitched His tent amongst us.
His miracles spoke to the kindness of God. He healed the sick and raised the dead. He was a friend to sinners.
His survival after we tortured and killed Him spoke to the omnipotence of God. Death, our greatest enemy, has no power over Him.
The survival of His love for us after we tortured and killed Him, however, tells us even more and takes us deeper into the mystery, majesty and magnificence of God. It reveals the very essence of divinity itself. It shows us that God is indestructible love for us.
Oh! Happy love!
The thirty-three Visit was the dramatic announcement that the owner of the house who had withdrawn had now returned and was here to stay. He is back! He is back! The owner of the house is back! The owner is back to reclaim His house. “... [P]repare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3). Tidy up the rooms of the house. For He is back and is here to stay! The stranger wants to become our friend as He was a friend to our parents, Adam and Eve.
During the thirty three Visit of the Son of God to us upon the earth, the Son of God has given us proof of the nature of God. Therefore, proclaim the proof! Let the knowledge of God fill the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).
