What Are We Waiting For?

On 57th Street in New York City there is an upscale boutique called “Chanel.” From time-to-time the boutique conducts a special “Private Sale” for its patrons. These sales always draw big crowds and, in order to prevent a mob scene inside, the customers are lined up outside and admitted in small groups. One such customer recalls the “Private Sale” she attended last December:

I lined up with the others who wanted to get inside. Standing patiently behind me was a woman carrying a well-worn shopping bag. After about a twenty-minute wait, the woman suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around, she asked, “Where is this line going? What are we waiting for?”

In today’s Gospel Lesson, it is the second evening after Good Friday and Jesus’ closest disciples are huddled together behind closed doors. Jesus is gone: crucified. Now they are in hiding, fearing for their own lives. They had left their jobs, traveled with Jesus away from their homes, given up…