Thinking about the Messiah, a Rabbi tells this story: “The Messiah finally arrives. Jews and Christians, after waiting for so many centuries, rush to meet him. The Jews cry out, ‘This is the first time you have come, is it not?’ The Christians, raising their voices above the Jews, insist, ‘This must be Your second coming that we have been waiting for!’ The Messiah smiles wearily and waits for the noise to subside. Then, in a quiet and gentle voice…says, ‘My dear, foolish people. I have come not once, not twice. I have been here hundreds of times. But you have all been so busy fighting with one another you have never even noticed.’ “ [i]
By the time the Acts of the Apostles was written, almost 60 years had passed since Jesus’ death and resurrection. The early church had been waiting for Jesus’ immanent return for decades. While Jesus’ followers waited they retold stories, prayed, encouraged each other, watched and listened. They took up Jesus’ mission and carried on, alert for signs of his return. Twenty-one centuries later Christians are still waiting for Jesus to return, and Jews are still waiting for the Messiah. There is that part of us, as human beings, that longs for a savior, someone who will come with both authority and power to rescue us, and to end suffering everywhere. We project that longing onto Jesus, Adonai, Allah, Krishna, various Divine Beings—and wait. We wait. And our better angels say to us: “Why do you citizens of earth stand here looking up at the skies?” Stop fighting with each other and recognize the only savior there is lies within—within you, within the community you are—no exceptions. The kingdom of God is within You. (more…)