Having to Wait
John 9:1-41
Illustration

Three women die and all three reach Heaven at the same time. There they meet St. Peter. He tells them he has some other important business to transact and asks them to wait outside. Finally he returns and calls the first woman into his office. He apologizes for making her wait so long.

"Oh, I don't mind at all," the woman says. "I'm so thrilled just to be here in Heaven."

St. Peter is delighted by her attitude. "Well, then, if you can just answer one question for me, we can finish processing your papers. Now tell me, how do you spell `God'?" The woman spells it for him, then she goes on into the celestial realm.

St. Peter calls in the next woman and also apologizes to her for making her wait. "It will be worth it, I'm sure," she answers. "I am willing to wait one thousand years if necessary in order to see God face to face." St. Peter is very pleased. He insists, though, on asking her one more question for the Records. "Tell me, dear lady, how do you spell `God'?" The woman spells it perfectly, then enters the Pearly Gates.

Finally, St. Peter calls in the third woman. He also apologizes to her, but she refuses to accept his apology.

"It was quite rude," she says angrily. "All my life on earth I had to wait in lines. Wait at the checkout counter, wait at the bus stop, wait for the kids to get home from school, wait for my coffee break. And now you expect me to wait to get into Heaven? Well, I just won't stand for it!"

St. Peter said, "I'm so sorry. If you'll just answer one more question for our records, then you can go on in. Tell me, how do you spell 'Czechoslovakia'?"

Tie in: The relationship between this joke and the text is the element of irritation that we often feel towards complainers. Those who rarely see the good in circumstances and events. The Pharisees in John 9 were not able to enjoy the blinds man's new found sight. The church is full of these individuals that we must bare.

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