There’s an old fable about a poor farmer who had to use an old horse to plow his fields. One afternoon, while working in the field, his horse collapsed out of exhaustion and died. All the farmer’s neighbors said “Oh how sad!” but the farmer simply said "We'll see."

One of his rich cousins heard about his predicament and sent him a new horse. All the farmer’s neighbors said “Oh how wonderful!” but the farmer said "We'll see."

A few weeks later the farmer’s son was riding this new horse when he was thrown to the ground and broke his leg. All the farmer’s neighbors said “Oh how sad!” but the farmer simply said "We'll see."

While the son was recovering the king’s army came to the village and conscripted every boy - except for the farmer’s son who was deemed unfit to fight. All the farmer’s neighbors said “Oh how wonderful!” but the farmer simply said "We'll see."

The moral of the story seems to me not to react too strongly to the events that happen to us or unfold around us - it may take time to see whether these turn out to be helpful or harmful…

For 2,000 years - since our Lord ascended into heaven and promised to return in glory - we Christians have been living in the world (not of the world!) and experiencing all the cultural, economic, political and environmental upheaval our non-believing neighbors have. In many instances - like during the Roman Empire, Japanese Missions, the Reformation, French Revolution and Cristiada - we have had it far worse and more dangerous than our neighbors.

Yet, in all that time we have held onto our faith in Jesus as the true King and Savior. Whenever it looked like we were doomed, we said “we’ll see” and God brought His Church through the tumult and strife. On the other hand, whenever it seemed Catholics had managed to come out on top (in worldly terms), like in medieval Europe or late 20th century America, the wise among us also stepped back and said “we’ll see.”

This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the King and hear readings rich in imagery of the Glorious Return of our Lord and Savior and the end of present problems. We profess every week that “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end.” We’ve been saying that when things were looking up and looking bad for us, never doubting it’s truth.

If any neighbors or friends overwhelm you with talk about how good or bad things are getting - as a Christian have perspective, be patient, be faithful, and tell them “we’ll see… but either way I’m not worried, because Jesus has already saved us and He’s coming back to bring us with Him!”

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