An Untimely Whisper

Jesus was patient.

Jesus knew that every choice he made could either forward or hinder his destiny. Three instances come to mind. First, tradition holds that he was 33 when he emerged into public life, and there are few if any written records of his life before that, after the age of 12. Then, when he heard John the Baptizer was on the move, he stepped forward. That's one of the most mysterious and intriguing details of the story for me—that deliberate timing. 

Another example is the raising of Lazarus in John 11. When Jesus hears that Lazarus is sick, he says “This illness is not to end in death, but in the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Then he waits two whole days before making the journey to visit Lazarus. This involved returning to a place where just days before the people had been ready to stone him. This is some razor sharp timing. His friend is dying, but to help him Jesus must put his own life on the line. He waits. When he finally gets there, the sister of Lazarus (Mary) tells him “Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died.” The people standing around get on him, too, saying “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?”

In Matthew 17, Jesus seems fed up with his disciples, because they lack the faith needed to cure a possessed boy. “How long will I be with you?” he shouts at them. “How long will I endure you?” Then he proceeds to make short work of the demon. At a glance, Jesus seems to lose patience. But he doesn't. Instead he seizes the opportunity to push his disciples to the next level. It's a key moment in their training. Jesus's patience is taxed to the point where he must make deliberate use of it—and he does so with strong results. That's a sign of sturdy patience: the ability to wield it under pressure. Here Jesus demonstrates the difference between patience and delay. He waits when necessary, but he also knows he doesn't have all the time in the world to do what he came for. 

This distinction between patience and delay is also illustrated in The Lord of the Rings. At the Council of Elrond, Gandalf explains his motives in dealing with what turned out to be the One Ring. He is hindered early in his search for the ring when Saruman convinces him it will never be found. “There I was at fault,” he said. “I was lulled by the words of Saruman... I should have sought for the truth sooner... our peril would now be less.” But when his doubts are “awakened again to sudden fear,” and Gandalf wonders “whence came the hobbit's ring?” it suddenly becomes wise to wait: “I spoke yet of my dread to none, knowing the peril of an untimely whisper... That was seventeen years ago.”

Patience and waiting can be the boldest form of action.

Ever forward.

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