“What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me,
and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?”
A few years ago I reflected in this blog on the peculiar genius of the riddle. It's worth a read if you happen not to remember it. Riddles are still fun and can be enlightening.
Today I think of Jesus' remark about a little while. Sometimes things that seem to take for-ev-er, as a teen might say, in retrospect didn't take that long. Even periods of many years can be forgotten overnight.
"We lived in (that place) for most of our lives, but now we live here and this is good. We left a lot of troubles behind when we moved here."
Old people are sometimes astonished at their age. "How did I get to be so old so quickly? It was just a little while."
Will heaven be like that? Will we think of our earthly passage as only a little while? Will the crisis of this pandemic which must evolve into the new normal seem like a little while?
During the good times, the saints tell us, remember the hard times. And during the hard times, remember the good. There's a light at the end of the tunnel, and a tunnel at the end of the light.
My great-grandfather used to say, according to family lore, "You can get used to anything except hanging." But I suppose even that too, is only a little while.
In this meanwhile we keep the faith. We act with fidelity to our roots, beliefs, and traditions. We maintain our duties, obligations, and precious relationships.
We remember far worse times and we survived. We'll see better times though they might be hard to imagine right now.
God is always good. And sometimes he's better.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.