The Latin word for eyelash is cilia. If you were so close as to have your eyelashes with theirs (with being cum- or con- in Latin), you'd be con-cilia. And if you were once that close, but had drifted apart and then returned again (again being re- in Latin), you would be re-con-cilia -- you would be reconciled.
This one word, with its hidden metaphor,
succinctly summarizes salvation history.
In the beginning, human beings shared a great closeness with God. In their innocence, Adam and Eve stood
uncovered before God, not needing to hide anything. God walked with them in the garden in the cool
of evening, like you might do with an old friend after a big dinner.
But we separated ourselves from God by our
pride; we withdrew from that closeness, that intimacy, by wanting to change the
nature of the relationship, by trying to be equal to God…
But God loved us and wanted us back. God wanted us to be able to look Him in the
eye again. So He came among us as one of
us, like to us in all things but sin – he had arms and legs and hands and feet,
a heart and a mind… and eyelashes. Jesus
came to sinners, to the afflicted, to the poor, and stood eye to eye with them
and said, Your sins are
forgiven you…
God made us for closeness such as this with
Himself… God made us so that we could one day be face to face with Him—even eyelash
to eyelash. God wants nothing more than to hold us and say, I love you. May He
grant us the grace not to squirm, but to coo with delight, and nuzzle the nose
of our Father.
--Nick Senz,
former
Director of Religious Ed, OLMC,
Director of Faith Formation,
St. Vincent de Paul Church, Arlington, TX
To read Nick’s
complete – and wonderful! – post on reconciliation, click here.
