I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but we are a very impatient people. We want what we want now, without delay or excuses. Whether it be shopping for something, or waiting for something, we want results now, mucho quicko, post haste, yesterday, etc. when the response isn’t fast enough, we quickly judge and criticize the person who is supposed to be giving us what we want.
The same process applies to our prayer, especially when we are troubled, desperate, at wit’s end. We know that God has promised to answer prayers, yet we also know that God’s sense of time and urgency isn’t the same as our own. The result: we become like Doubting Thomas, the central figure in Sunday’s Gospel. “Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it!”
But you know, I find all the post-resurrection Gospel stories having one thing in common: Jesus does not hurry things. He takes his time. He leads the apostles and disciples slowly but surely from the tomb of their fear and disbelief to the light of joy and peace. And if you look at your own life, you will see the same dynamic at work. Your prayers are answered, your life does turn around, faith does deepen. But it takes time. And then one day, you realize that all is well again, that you have changed and growth, that the situation is no longer quite as desperate.
I always use the analogy of the common cold. You get that cold, and feel awful, like something the dog chewed up and brought inside. But then one day you realize the cold is gone. When did it go? Can you pinpoint the exact time? Were you aware that it was happening? Or take my recent knee replacement. It took awhile, with many weeks of soreness and stiffness, but then one day I realized that I was walking perfectly OK, with no pain or discomfort.
Peter says very much the same thing in Sunday’s Second Reading: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus….” Birth doesn’t just happen willy-nilly…..it takes time.
Father, grant us patience, so that we can be aware of and enjoy how you are constantly and continuously sending us your blessings, bit by bit by bit.
Love deeply, laugh often, pray faithfully!
Fr. Herb, C.S.C.
