My colleagues and I get together once a week for coffee at a local bistro. We share stories and pastoral concerns. After many years of ministry together, we were surprised to hear that the oldest member of our group had been adopted when she was only six months old. I asked her if she had ever thought about who her real parents were. Her answer has resounded many times in my mind: “That day my parents had the opportunity to pick out any one of the babies that they had before them. They chose me. They are my real parents.”
Song of Solomon is a collection of love poems. Today’s reading describes a mysterious passion that draws two people together. It reminds me of my baptism and suggests the mystery of God’s great love for creation and our response. God’s love and Christ’s passion bind us together in one spirit. At baptism, God chose to seal me with the cross of salvation. God adopted me as a beloved child for everlasting life and gave me the faith that declares that Christ is my bridegroom and the Eucharist is our marriage feast. God speaks to me from the cross, from the gar- den—an insistent lover. I serve God with joy and thanksgiving.
I came across a faded black-and-white picture recently of my cheerleading days in high school. Those days came back in a ash. Everything seemed so simple then. We easily forget the obstacles, concerns, needs, and spur-of-the-moment situations that blur our ability to remember. One fact to remember: God chose you. Jesus sealed you with the cross on Calvary. When all has faded, and life has lost its color, our loving and faithful God will continue to lead the way with passion and love beyond our understanding.