32 Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
Waiting is something we often find frustrating, but Jesus teaches us that waiting can also be an opportunity for hope, joy, and transformation. Through the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1–13), we discover that waiting for Christ is not simply about passing time but about preparing ourselves to meet someone we love. By growing in prayer, kindness, and service to others, we can allow this time of waiting to make us more like Jesus.
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A couple of weeks ago, I was ordering something online. I'm sure we've all had this experience. You find what you want, add it to your cart, and you're just about ready to pay when you come to the shipping options. I noticed that one option would have my order arrive in a couple of weeks. I thought, that's not so bad. But then I looked further down. If I paid a little more, I could get it in just three days. And there was even an option for same-day delivery! Sometimes we hear about companies experimenting with drones that can deliver packages in just a few hours. It's clear that we don't particularly like waiting. We want things as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, we learn from today's Gospel that waiting is a central part of what it means to be a Christian. In the parable of the bridesmaids, Jesus teaches us not only about the importance of waiting, but also how to wait well.
As Christians, we live in a period of waiting. We live between the resurrection of Jesus and his return in glory, an event known as the Parousia, a Greek word associated with the arrival or presence of a king. Jesus has risen from the dead. Salvation has begun. The Kingdom of God is already present among us. Yet we continue to await Christ's return, when sin and death will be finally defeated and the resurrection of the dead will take place. We live, in other words, in a state of waiting.
In today's second reading, from St. Paul's First Letter to the Thessalonians, we hear about some of the difficulties this waiting can cause. The Christians in Thessalonica are anxious. When will Christ return? What will happen to those who have already died? Will they miss out on Christ's coming? Paul encourages them to wait with hope, reminding them of the resurrection of Jesus and the promise that we will be with him forever.
But this raises an important question for us. How are we supposed to wait well? Does this period of waiting have a purpose? Why has God placed us in this situation of awaiting Christ's return? I think it can be helpful to distinguish between different kinds of waiting. Waiting can be a very different experience depending on what, or whom, we're waiting for. Consider two scenarios.
First, imagine you're standing at a bus stop, waiting for a bus that's late. You need to get to work or school, and as the minutes tick by, you realize you're getting closer and closer to being late yourself. How do you feel? What do you do? I know that I would probably become frustrated. I might pull out my phone, check the news, or send a message to explain that I'm going to be late. I might even become angry. This kind of waiting is unpleasant. It's something we simply want to get through. We're not particularly happy about the experience, and it doesn't necessarily change us for the better.
Now consider a second scenario. Imagine you're at an airport, waiting for a close friend or family member whom you haven't seen for five years. What is that experience like? It's very different, isn't it? You're waiting with hope and anticipation. You watch for the announcement that the plane has landed. You know the person is getting closer. You keep looking toward the doors, hoping to catch that first glimpse of someone you love. And as the moment approaches, your excitement grows. This kind of waiting is not simply something to endure. There's joy in the anticipation itself.
And notice something else. This kind of waiting can also change our behaviour. If we know that a loved one is coming to visit, we might clean the house, prepare a meal, or rearrange our schedule. We make changes because we're looking forward to being with that person. Waiting, in this case, actually moves us to action. It changes how we live.
Now, let's return to the Gospel. Which of these two scenarios best describes the bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom? Are they like people waiting impatiently for a late bus? Or are they more like someone eagerly awaiting the arrival of a loved one? Certainly, the setting of the parable points us toward the second scenario. The bridesmaids are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive so that they can celebrate a wedding. Their waiting is directed toward something joyful.
And this is how we, as Christians, are called to wait for Christ. We're not simply waiting for some event to happen. We're waiting to meet someone whom we love, someone who has already shown us how much he loves us. Whether we meet Christ at the end of our lives or at his return in glory, our waiting should be filled with hope and anticipation.
But today's Gospel teaches us something more. Waiting for Christ should not only fill us with hope. It should also transform the way we live. This brings us to the important image of the oil in the parable.
Notice that all ten bridesmaids have to wait. None of them can avoid it. The bridegroom is delayed, and eventually all of them fall asleep. The difference between the two groups is not that some have to wait while others don't. Nor is it that some grow tired while others remain awake. The difference is that some have prepared themselves for the bridegroom's arrival, while others have not. Five bridesmaids have brought enough oil for their lamps. The other five have not.
So what does this oil represent? What does it mean for us to have enough oil as we prepare to meet Christ? Throughout Christian history, different interpretations have been offered. The oil can represent our faith, our prayer, or our relationship with God. But I think there's another particularly helpful interpretation when we consider where this parable appears in Matthew's Gospel.
In this same chapter, Jesus tells another parable, the separation of the sheep and the goats. In that parable, Jesus explains that those who are welcomed into his Kingdom are those who have shown love and kindness toward people in need. They have fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, cared for the sick, and visited those in prison. Jesus tells them that whatever they did for the least of his brothers and sisters, they did for him.
Seen in this context, the oil in the lamps can also be understood as representing our good works, especially our acts of love and service toward others. We prepare to meet Christ by learning to recognize and serve him in the people around us. Every time we show kindness to someone who is struggling, every time we reach out to someone who is lonely, every time we care for someone in need, we are preparing ourselves to meet Jesus.
This is how waiting can transform us. We don't simply sit around waiting for Christ to return. We use this time to become more like him. We grow in our love for God and in our love for our neighbour. And perhaps this is one of the reasons why this time of waiting is so important. It gives us an opportunity to grow, to change, and to prepare ourselves for the one we long to meet.
Waiting is something none of us can escape. We wait for all kinds of things in life, both big and small. And ultimately, each one of us is waiting for that moment when we will meet Jesus face to face. Today's Gospel reminds us that although we cannot always choose whether we wait, we can choose how we wait.
We can wait with frustration and impatience, as though we're standing at a bus stop wondering why the bus hasn't arrived. Or we can wait with hope, joy, and expectation, like someone at an airport eagerly awaiting the arrival of a loved one. And most importantly, we can allow this waiting to change us for the better.
As we await Christ's coming, let us prepare our lamps with the oil of prayer, kindness, and loving service. Let us use this time to grow closer to God and to become more like Jesus. Because the purpose of our waiting is not simply to pass the time until Christ comes. It is to become ready to meet the one who loves us.
