I spend a lot of time in airports: arrive, depart, rinse, repeat. My work week is often a series of déjà vu episodes with car keys on steel cable-tie loops, rental car agreements signed, initialed, and emailed between lightning swipes of my government travel credit card. 

 

This week it’s a one-way rental, as I land here only to drive and fly away from there. Next week it’s a local rental with a pick-up and drop-off to the very same garage, to the very same space, to the very same attendant who inspects and reinspects the odometer and the fuel level. Every week I travel concludes when I return home again.

 

God has revealed Himself to us, through Adam and Eve, Moses and the Prophets, and in the fullness of time, most perfectly through his son Jesus Christ. Like a playful parent, He captivates us in an encounter of ultimate peek-a-boo. He reveals His divine presence to our joy, seems to withdraw at times to our fear, always to return and strengthen our faith and confidence in His love and care for us. 

 

The celebration of the Easter mysteries has come to a close this year. There’s only one thing left to fulfill Christ’s mission. Only one thing left to do. His divine word to us in command demands our response— each and every day— throughout our lifetime. Jesus’ directive is our outcry to Him: Return to me!