Mrs. Goldbloom took her seat on the plane next to Swen Swensen, six-foot two, blond, blue-eyed. After staring at him for a while she asked, “Pardon me, are you Jewish?” He said, “No.” A few minutes later she turned to him again, “You can tell me, you know — you are Jewish, aren’t you?” He replied, “Most certainly not.” She kept studying him for some minutes, then said again, “I can tell you are Jewish.” In order to get rid of the annoyance, the man declared, “Okay, okay, so I’m Jewish.” She studies him again and shakes her head and says, “That’s funny. You certainly don’t look Jewish.”
Tell the truth – do you like how things are going? We are tempted to say: if only this or that were different. If only I were done with school. I only the country were less divided. If only my family were more understanding of what I am going through. If only I hit six good numbers. But most frequently reality doesn’t work how we would prefer. So like Mrs. Goldbloom in the story we imagine how we would like things to be instead of letting them be how they are. We start to live in a fantasy world of our making and miss the presence of God in the real world. Daydreams start to fill our thoughts: “won’t it be wonderful when…” The now is something to escape from. The future and not the present becomes where we think the action is.
Obviously the future is important in the Bible — after all, we do hope to go to heaven one day. And, as the Old Testament lesson and gospel remind us, not just our personal future but all creation, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, is caught up in God’s future, the mystery of God’s transforming power. But this future of God is not something completely other than what is going on now — it is the flowering of what is in seed at present. We don’t come to the future by fantasy or daydreams but by entering more deeply into the present, into the divine now. The scripture readings suggest three actions we must take in order to live in such a way that our present can give birth to the divine future.
The first is watch: “Learn a lesson from the fig tree,” says Jesus. Learn to recognize that things have their own time and season, have a cycle of growth. We need to see what season this is in my life – a time for personal growth, a time to forgive an old wound, a time to share blessings with others. We all must become aware of what God is doing today in my life. The fig tree has to sprout leaves before it can bear fruit. It is taking the small daily steps of living for God daily that makes a genuine surrender into God’s will for the future possible.
The second is wait, as the letter to the Hebrews says: “Jesus took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits…” Isn’t that a wonderful image? Jesus takes a seat and waits. How vital for us to do the same. We want to make things happen; sometimes we should just take a seat. Take a seat and wait — how this relationship will develop is not is your hands but a risk that two people must take together. Take a seat and wait – how your children are going to turn out is not something you control but the product of many daily fidelities. Take a seat and wait — the sacrifices you make because you are a Christian might seem foolish now but in God’s time all will have their fullness. If even Jesus has to take a seat, to wait on God’s future, shouldn’t we be willing to do the same?
The third is wonder. Jesus said, “As to the exact day or hour, no one knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor even the Son, but only the Father.” Can we live not knowing when things are going to get better and still trust? If I only knew when Prince Charming was coming I could endure the wait. If I could count on this pain I’m feeling going away soon it would be easier to take. If I knew why death snatched away someone I loved I could stand it more easily. Jesus does not know the exact day or hour. Jesus has to live with doubt, ambiguity, unsureness. Jesus has to learn since he was a human being in all things but sin. God knows how it all works. Jesus doesn’t, we don’t for we share a common humanity. Can we have the same faith that Jesus has and live confidently that being human with all its unsureness is the best possible way we can be? Can we throw ourselves into God’s future not knowing how it will turn out because of the utter assurance we have in God’s power to transform the world, to transform our hearts into the kingdom of peace? The lack of knowledge which Jesus confesses to in Mark’s gospel informs us that being content not to know surely which characterizes humanity is the avenue God uses to bring divinity to the world.
After the resurrection all the angels crowded around Jesus to congratulate him. They were giving high fives all around for a job well done. Gabriel asked Jesus, “Now what happens?” Jesus answered, “I’ve asked Peter and Andrew, Martha and Mary and a few more friends to tell others about me. They will tell everyone that I gave my life because I loved them so much.” Gabriel looked worried, “Yes, but what if Peter and the others grow weary? What if they run out of time before everyone on earth has heard the good news?” Jesus answered, “The ones they have told will tell still others until the last man and the last woman in the farthest corner of the earth will have heard the story.” Gabriel frowned and looked skeptical. “What if the people who come after them forget? What if they get confused? Surely you have made other plans?” Jesus could only shake his head, “Gabriel, I haven’t make any other plans. I’m counting on them.