How many of you are Mr. Roger fans? When my oldest daughter was growing up, the two of us sat side-by-side almost every afternoon watching Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood show. One of Mr. Roger’s favorite songs was “I Like to Take my Time.” The lyrics say, “When I start to do a thing, I like to do it well…”
Child psychologists told us that the pace of Mr. Roger’s show was much more conducive to learning than that of commercial-driven children’s TV educational shows. Fred Rogers honored the inner growth of human beings more so than the laws of “production.” He remains a father figure for many young people and old ones as well.
God is in the building business. He is more attentive to the building of human lives than constructing brick-and-mortar buildings. And, like Mr. Rogers, he likes to take his time. By our “hurry up and get it done” standards, God is painfully slow in his work.
Today’s reading (Zechariah 8:1-8) continues to talk about God’s rebuilding project of the city of Jerusalem. Today’s psalm (Psalm 102:16-23) echoes this same theme.
“The nations shall revere your name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory. When the Lord has rebuilt Zion and appeared in his glory.”
The slow, laborious process of building Zion and its temple was under God’s direction. It was more than a human project. Though the people wondered if and when the job would ever be finished, the prophet assured them that in time all the nations would be astounded at the work they were beginning.
“When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute, and not despised their prayer.”
What was it that moved God to undertake what seemed a “hopeless” project? It was the prayers of the poor—the prayers of the destitute. The people who had no power and little to offer except their prayers are the ones who moved God to act. Let us never underestimate the power of the prayer of the simple people who have childlike trust in the God who loves them as a father.
“Let this be written for the generation to come and let his future creatures praise the Lord: ‘The Lord looked down from his holy height, from heaven he beheld the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die.”
God cannot ignore the groaning of prisoners any more than a mother can ignore the cries of her baby. Though God seems to be working slowly he is working steadily according to a definite plan to set the prisoners free. We note a word of hope—“the generation to come.” That means the children of the workers would begin to reap the fruit of their parents’ labors. Though God works slowly, he always gets the job done—and maybe sooner than we think.
Once again we ask the Holy Spirit to slow us down to God’s pace. Instead of bemoaning the fact that he works so slow, we rejoice in the fact that he is with us now as he calls us to join him in his building project.
Patience is a word that few of us like to hear. Yet “pace-tience” is the secret of getting into the rhythm of the Holy Spirit and enjoying the present moment without worrying about how long God is going to take to get the job done. Remember the word of St. James (5:7-8):
“See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and late rains. You must be patient. Make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
Jesus help be to grow in patience, especially with your building project that is me. Teach me to “like to take my time.”
