As children on a family road trip, who among us has not lamented from the back seat, “Are we there yet? How much longer?” It can be the plaintive cry in the weeks and days before Christmas: “How much longer?” Plaintive in the sense of impatience and joyful anticipation.

How much longer? It is easy to understand how it would be the question for people “In those days after that tribulation [when] the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”  It is not a stretch to imagine how in the midst of such terrible days, even the faithful will lament, “How much longer?” – a question of fear, dread and anxiety. Continue reading →