Patience to Wait

32nd Sunday A
Mt.25:1-13

“Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all become drowsy and fell sleep” (Mt.25:5).

There were ten virgins who took their lamp and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish they took their lamp but brought no oil with them. The other five were wise they brought flasks of oil with their lamps. The bridegroom got delayed in his coming and they became drowsy and fell asleep.

What can we expect? It is not that easy to wait and they did not even know the time of the coming of the bridegroom. To wait is not actually a big deal but why is that it becomes a hard thing for us to do? Well, in our time where information technology rules, everything becomes fast and easy. Internet, cell phones, emails, ATMs, EZ pass, express lane, text and instant messages, etc. make everything quick and easy for us. Even the food that eat and the beverages that we drink are instant – instant noodles, instant coffee and those microwavable dinners.

These things are cool and good but we do not notice how they put us always in haste. Consequently, we want everything to be fast. Apparently we don’t have the patience to wait. The kids cannot wait until Christmas to open their gifts. Many people bet in the lottery because they want to get rich instantly. Some cannot wait for their promotion. We want instant success. We want instant popularity. Many young guys cannot wait for the right time to marry. Many motorists drive over the speed limit without realizing its danger. We become impatient when things don’t get done right away. We become compulsive and we want to accomplish a lot of things. We want to get to the top right ahead. We are never satisfied and we keep on craving for more. Our excitement is short-lived. We easily get tired of everything. We get upset when we don’t get things our way. We want quick-fix solution to our problems. We cannot tolerate boredom. We easily become frustrated when we fail. We focus too much on our timetable without giving time to appreciate the simple beauty of life. We run too fast to reach the finish line but we forget to look at the goal why we are running. We have too many tasks to accomplish but we have too little time do it. Everything must be fast, fast and fast.

There was a farmer who took delight in his farm. He ploughed and sowed special seed and did all he could to enrich his harvest. After a few weeks he began to wonder why in his neighbor’s field the grain grew taller than his own. This worried him. Suddenly he got a bright idea. He ran to his farm and began to pull the blades of growing grain out of the ground a bit to make them look taller. On his way home, he met his neighbor with the exceptional crop and told him what he had done. Both of them hurried back to the field to see if the new idea had worked. They were shocked to see that the entire field was withered and wilted (Karl Kleiner).

This is an example of a man who has no patient to wait. Our impatience could incite us to make foolish decisions and actions. It could affect our relationship. In our desire to become rich and successful we may forget our family. It could also affect our prayer life. We cannot spend longer time in prayer and savor the presence of the Lord. It could also affect our self-esteem. We only feel good about ourselves when we accomplish something.

Patience is a great virtue. The book of Proverbs says: “It is better to be patient than be powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than the whole city” (16:32). Let us reflect on these lines found in the breviary of St Teresa of Avila after her death:

Nada Te Turbe! Nada te turbe, Nada te espante; Todo se pasa; Dios no se muda. La paciencia todo lo alcanza. Quien a Dios tiene Nada le falta. Solo Dios basta. (Let nothing disturb you! Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frightens you, Everything passes away, God does not change! Patient endurance attain all things He who is with God lacks nothing at all; God alone is enough.)