A Buddhist monk is fleeing from a hungry tiger. The monk comes to the edge of a cliff cutting off any hope of escape from the pursuing tiger. Fortunately for the monk, a vine happens to be growing over the edge. He grabs hold of it and begins to climb down the cliff, out of the tiger's reach, who is by now glaring at him from above. But alas, as the monk is climbing down, he spies another tiger waiting for him below; circling impatiently at the bottom of the cliff. To make matters worse, out of the corner of his eye he notices a mouse on a ledge above him already beginning to gnaw through the vine. Then out of the corner of his other eye the monk sees a strawberry growing from the rock. So he picks the strawberry and eats it.

Faith in God is not believing that the Holy One will intervene to "save" us. It is knowing what time it is. We live with the reality of sin and death encoded within us, and we live with danger and chance all around us. Yet we are to live with joy here and now. If there is a strawberry at hand, we are to eat it. Yes, we sinners and scoundrels, but the kingdom is at hand. We are not to demand evidence of the Kingdom's presence. Rather we are to believe it and act accordingly.