Third Sunday of Lent
I
recall a time when I was at Lansing Catholic high school, and there was a dance
coming up that I was planning to attend.
And there was a particular girl I really wanted to take to the dance. I sort of had a crush on this girl,
without the sort of part. And I remember
really wanting to ask her to the dance.
But, being the analytical guy that I am, I also did not want to appear
desperate and ask too early. So I
made myself a deal: I would ask this girl to the dance no more than a certain
number of days before the
dance. I day before, and I’m ready
to ask. There’s a part of me that
just wants to ask on that day. But
the rational side of me reminds me that I don’t want to look desperate, and that
I can wait just one more day. I go
through the final day, waiting for my opportunity to ask her to the dance when
I have class with her after lunch.
I see her in class and say, “So, you got plans for the dance in a few
weeks?” “Yeah,” she says, “so-and-so
(I don’t want to use real names, since some of you knew me in high school) just
asked me yesterday.” “Great!” I said, trying to play off the fact
that I felt stupid for waiting that extra day. “I’m sure you’ll have a great time together.”
Now,
if this were a modern-day fable, we would probably guess that the moral of the
story is not to be patient, because you can miss out on opportunities that you
might otherwise have. And there
are certainly times when being pro-active is key.
But
even though I didn’t get what I wanted, and it seemed to be because “he who
hesitates is lost,” as the saying goes, I ended up having a great time at the
dance with a different girl, and my patience (which I’m still not really known
for) paid off.
Patience
is a virtue with which I think most people struggle. It’s hard to be patient, whether with family members,
co-workers, people on the road, etc.
Whenever I fly I don’t want to have to wait between my flights; I would
rather just land, make it to my gate, and then take off as soon as I’m ready. Technology hasn’t made patience any
easier. Anytime I want to know
something, I just type in the question to Google on my iPhone, and get an
answer. Or, if I’m really
impatient, I just ask Siri to find me the answer so I don’t have to waste time
typing.
And
yet, our readings today focus us precisely on patience. In our first reading, we hear about
Moses being called by God to lead the Chosen People from slavery in Egypt to
freedom in the Promised Land. What
does that have to do with patience?
Well, by the time the Israelites left Egypt, it had been 430 years since
Joseph and his family had fled the famine in Canaan and set up residence in
Egypt. That’s a long time! And what does God say? “‘I have witnessed the affliction of my
people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave
drivers, so I know well what they are suffering.’” Now, our modern, impatient tendencies would probably lead us
to say wonder what in the world took so long to find someone. Why wait over four centuries to free
the People that God had made His own?
To be honest, we don’t know why.
But God was patient, knowing that He would send Moses at just the right
time to command that the Israelites go free, and that, when Pharaoh refused,
God would manifest His power over all creation to convince the Egyptians to let
the Israelites go.
Or
take the fig tree from the end of today’s Gospel. Our modern, impatient tendencies would be to cut down the
tree. It’s had enough time to
produce fruit, and it’s not, so don’t give it another chance to continue to
waste precious water and nutrients in the ground. Cut it down, and plant a new tree. But the gardener asks for some patience, to give the tree
one more year to produce fruit before it is cut down, and the orchard owner
agrees.
God
is patient. He is never in a rush
to act. And while we may complain
about that, we should also give thanks for God’s patience, because it’s His
patience that has allowed us time to repent. Imagine if God were as impatient as us: how many times would
he give us before He stopped allowing us to repent and turn back to Him? And yet, each Lent, and even each time
we come to Mass, we tell God that we are sorry for our lack of love for Him,
and ask Him to give us another chance and more time. God knows the fullness of time, and He knows when certain things
need to happen. Whether it was
freeing the Israelites, sending us a Savior, the call of St. Paul, or any of
the other aspects of Salvation History, God is patient and gives His People a
chance to turn back to Him and choose life and holiness, not death and sin.
If
we are going to be like God, then we, too, need patience. We need to be patient with others and
not condemn or judge others so quickly.
We need to be patient with ourselves and realize that, while some
conversions happen quickly, many happen slowly, over time, but are longer
lasting. We need to be patient
with God and realize that His time is always the right time, even when we think
something needs to happen sooner, or immediately. God is not our Siri that we can make tell us the answers
immediately. God’s time is
according to His own plan that often is above our understanding, and is always
for the best.
God
calls us today to pray for patience.
But, realize that, when we pray for it, God will give us opportunities
to be patient, times and people that try our patience, so that we can grow in
that virtue. Don’t worry; be
patient.