YouTube: How to Win the Waiting Game
When Jesus told Pilate that his kingship was not of this world, the average reader assumes he was referring to the coming of the long-anticipated kingdom of God. To the mystic, he was referring to a different way of experiencing life here and now. Those who were waiting for the Messiah envisioned a fundamental change in the social and political world order. Jesus was talking about a change that could happen within one’s normal life. The key to his intended meaning is embodied in this verse:
“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:20).
This passage is typically interpreted as Jesus pointing out that earth is not his true home and that those who follow him should not expect much in the way of earthly comforts. The mystic, on the other hand, understands that, unlike the fox or the bird, the human being is not bound by the strict parameters of instinct. There are no set outcomes, no place to lay our head. This is not a negative statement, but one intended to free the mind of restricting preconceptions.
The Jews of Jesus’ day were anticipating a Messiah, someone to dramatically change their life in ways they could not possibly do themselves. Jesus was telling them that their hope for a better life did not depend on divine intervention, that they could open themselves to new possibilities of experience right in the midst of their present life.
The Way that Jesus taught suggests that positive changes can come about in the most mundane of daily tasks. One can learn to find adventure in fetching the daily supply of water, plowing the field, or doing the wash. He had observed that those who constantly anticipate a better life rarely achieved it. The good is never good enough. The better life one imagines never quite arrives.
We win the waiting game by realizing we do not lay our head in any anticipated better condition, but it is within all conditions that our highest good awaits. Jesus encouraged his listeners to lift their awareness to the miracle of the Presence of God found in every new moment.