There are certain human experiences that are universally annoying, but everyone has to experience them at some time. Like waiting in lines. And in our rushed and privileged society, it seems like we have less and less capacity for waiting.

A woman tells of trying to get a table at a very popular and very busy restaurant.

She approached the hostess and asked quite brusquely, “Will it be long?” The hostess kept writing in her hostess book, so the woman leaned closer and asked again a little more firmly, “Will it be long?”

Without looking up, the hostess said, “About ten minutes.”

A few minutes later, the woman heard this announcement over the speaker: “Willette B. Long, your table is ready. Willette B. Long, your table is ready.” (1)

Is that what Jesus’ friends, the disciples, were thin…