1 September, Friday — Delayed

Friday of Week 21 in Ordinary Time

1 Ths 4:1-8 
Mt 25:1-13

The bridegroom was late…

In another version of this reading, it was written that the bridegroom was ‘long delayed.’ I personally like this version better (and yes, I have Bibles with both the UK and US versions – all Catholic :)).

When you say someone is late, one’s first thought is that the person did not come on time. However, when you say one is delayed, one would first think that something happened for the person’s arrival to happen later. There is a reason for being delayed.

In a Jewish marriage, after the betrothal, the bridegroom prepares the house for the bride before fetching her to live with him. With this in mind, I would think that the bridegroom was delayed because he was trying to put things in order for his bride, and something important in that process had to be attended to and completed. If that were the case, I wouldn’t exactly call him late.

As I am writing this reflection, I had to reflect on how many times I think that God was late in making things happen in my life. To think that God is late means I’m expecting him to complete something at an agreed time. And I realized that God never promises us anything based on an exact time – he didn’t even put a calendar date on His 2nd coming! His promise is based on quality – that we will have eternal life with Him, that we will be happy with Him, that our joy and redemption will surely come if we wait on Him.

It’s so easy to feel frustrated whenever we feel that something is already late. As a bridegroom, God wants what is best for us, not only because that will give Him greater glory, but also because that will make us the best version of ourselves. God’s delay shows us how patient He is, because He is willing to wait to make it the best possible thing to happen. The Israelites had to wander in the desert when there was a shortcut, remember?

So what do we do during this period of delay? We make sure we are ready. We are in the current states of our lives so we can be ready when God calls us to the next phase of our lives. I think it is ok to anticipate and be excited for the future, but we should not let this anticipation and excitement rob us of the disposition of enjoying the present. Unfortunately, some of us live our lives simply not being able to wait for the next phase — we can’t wait to grow up, we can’t wait to settle down, we can’t wait to have kids, we can’t wait for the kids to be out of the house, we can’t wait until we retire.

When God is ‘delayed’, there is a reason for it. Let’s wait patiently and enjoy this season.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)

Prayer: Dearest Lord God, I would really like you to give me what you want me to have soon, but I would rather ask for the grace to wait on you and your promises until the fullness of time.

Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of this season. Please help me learn all the lessons and enjoy everything I could enjoy in this season.