A small boy had been told that he must always wait patiently until he was served at meals, and not draw attention to himself. One day he was eating at a friend’s house with his mother, and somehow he was accidently overlooked. Nobody noticed, and for a time he was patient, but at last he could stand it no longer. Leaning across to his mother, he said in an audible whisper, “Mama, do little boys who starve to death go to heaven?”

That little guy was more patient than most of us. There are various surveys that indicate people don’t like to wait. Do you remember the sales pitch, years ago, for touch-tone phones over rotary phones? You were told you don’t have to wait any longer for the rotary to make your call. And now there’s digital. We have and want instant on and off and instant gratification for almost everything.

Over a period of forty days after his resurrection Jesus appeared to many believers, teaching them about the kingdom of God. St. Luke wrote, “While meeting with them, he enjoined them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for ‘the promise of the Father about which you have heard me speak; for John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’.” (Acts 1,3) They were to wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. He told them this because they were not yet ready to receive the Father’s gift. There was some spiritual growing up that was needed to occur. They needed more time.

Some things simply take time. Do you ever wonder why your prayers are not answered according to your time table ... or why God does not work more quickly in your life ... or you don’t see results as rapidly as you want to? One of the many lessons you learn in life is that God’s schedule is not your schedule. Sometimes you have to wait. Maybe the circumstances are not right. Sometimes you are not right.

Jesus knew that his disciples needed time to reflect on their experiences with him. They needed time for everything to come together in their own minds and hearts. Then they would be ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Then they would be able to see the world through the eyes of Christ. In the liturgy, you wait through the fifty days of Easter to reflect on your experience with Christ to be more ready for the Spirit.

There are times when God slows you down, asking you to wait because things are not right or you are not right. You can be sure that waiting does not mean that God is not with you or you are being ignored. When God asks you to wait it is because God has something greater in store for you. What is it that you need? Faith is learning to trust God when you are waiting and when you are doing great things for God.