What might one consider a typical Valentine’s Day message? Perhaps a sentiment such as “You are the love of my life” or “I couldn’t imagine life without you.” There are many different possibilities; however, valentines tend to contain three specific elements. Firstly, the writer places herself within the message. Secondly, the writer indicates—either in a positive or a negative manner—a longing for intimacy with the object of her love. Thirdly, she expresses a deep love for and a dedicated pursuit of the one to whom she writes. Human love and affection are beautiful concepts, and the special commitment shared between a man and a woman constitutes a phenomenon that has provided inspiration for poets, songwriters, and novelists for centuries. However, what if a text explores the nature of a love not between two human beings but between humanity and its Creator? What would a valentine from God look like? In T. S. Eliot’s work The Wasteland, various devices portray God engaging in three behaviors: identifying Himself within the poem, desiring communion with the recipient of His love, and describing His eternal quest to win the heart of humanity.
God appears in The Wasteland a number of times through the identity of the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ. For example, towards the beginning of the poem, the speaker addresses a “son of man” (I. 20), a title that Christ uses to describe Himself at least seven times in the Gospel of Matthew alone (Matthew 8:20 NIV). Additionally, in a section titled “What the Thunder Said,” the speaker illustrates a scene that seems very similar to the events preceding the crucifixion and death of Christ, mentioning torchlight, gardens, agony, and thirst (IV. 322-326). Directly following the poem’s crucifixion scene, the speaker states that he sees two people on a journey (IV. 359-360). He observes that a third person, who is “hooded,” accompanies them (IV. 362-363). This image evokes the New Testament scene that takes place on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, in which Christ travels with two of His disciples who are unaware of His true identity (Luke 24: 15 NIV). Identity is one of the most important details in any message. When the author of a valentine writes “I love you,” she indicates to the recipient that he is loved, but—more specifically—that she loves him. In Eliot’s construction of God’s valentine, Jesus Christ indicates Who He is—the Son of man—and then proceeds to offer evidence of His profound love and reliable companionship by prompting the reader to recall His proximity to His disciples. Additionally, by describing Himself as a “son of man,” He emphasizes the extraordinary degree to which He has become familiar to His beloved.
God wishes to be an intimate and familiar presence in our lives, but He does not want that intimacy to remain one-sided. The Wasteland contains several examples of voices that cry out for response and relationship with others. One voice asks a person to stay with her and wonders why he never speaks to her (II. 111-112). The voice then presses the person over and over to share what he is thinking (II. 112). Furthermore, many times throughout the poem, the speaker mourns over a lack of water (I. 24), lamenting that there is “only rock” and no water (IV. 331-332). The speaker’s longing for water mirrors God’s longing for a response from His beloved, for the reciprocation of both His love and His effort to communicate. It is extremely difficult for close, loving relationships to exist without some level of a mutual sharing of thoughts, feelings, and affection. The flower of intimacy shared between humanity and God requires the life-giving water of responsive love and communication in order to flourish. However, since God will not force His beloved to respond to Him, He waits in infinite patience with a broken heart whose inward groans convey an even deeper distress than that of a parched land crying out for water.
Despite God’s indefatigable patience, His extreme love and His longing for the response of humanity drives Him on a continuous pursuit. The pursuit of one’s beloved requires sacrifice, and through The Wasteland’s aforementioned Crucifixion scene, the text draws attention to the sacrifice God made to procure the means of salvation for His beloved. Additionally, the poem contrasts God’s sacrificial and longsuffering nature with an urgent sense of pursuit. During one section, in an insistent and almost alarming way, a voice declares “hurry up please it’s time” over and over (II. 141-152), echoing the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospels when He urges humanity to repent of its sin (Matthew 3:2) and expresses His longing to embrace the unwilling city of Jerusalem (Luke 13:34 NIV). Moreover, in the poem’s previously mentioned scene regarding the hooded Christ-figure, the speaker states that the hooded figure “always” walks alongside the companions (IV. 359), indicating God’s enduring desire to be with His beloved ones even when they do not recognize Him. God’s patience knows no limits, and He is willing to woo the object of His love continually. However, He knows that His love, humanity, is fragile—the time which we are given to know and love God in this life is limited (Psalm 103:14 NIV). Therefore, both patience and urgency characterize His loving pursuit.
God is patient and loving beyond human imagination. However, just as the human heart suffers the pain of loneliness when the object of its love is far away—either emotionally or physically—so the heart of God suffers when humanity rejects His invitation to intimacy and chooses to remain distant from His embrace. The Wasteland conveys the deep pain that God suffers from humanity's unwillingness to reciprocate His love, but it also suggests an example of a possible positive response to that proffered love. In one section of the poem, the speaker likens a boat that is content to sail under the hand of an expert steersman to a heart that “[beats] obedient” and answers with joy to the invitation of a capable guide (V. 418-422). Will we, as God’s beloved, respond to His guiding hand with obedience and happiness? He is more than capable of caring for us, and His love is beyond that of any other being. He offers us guidance, desires our company, and asks us to respond to His loving invitation to intimacy—His valentine—today. What are we waiting for?
Hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day! ♥️♥️♥️
Nikki
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