by Father Alonzo Cox
As someone who grew up in New York City, I took to heart one of the phrases that many people associate with our great city. That phrase is: It’s the city that never sleeps!
Of course, as human beings, we must allot time for sleep and rest, but the city of New York never sleeps. We have a subway and transit system that runs 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.
All throughout the night, city buildings and skyscrapers are illuminated with bright lights. Even though its citizens may be asleep and at rest, the city is not. I have always been fascinated with this concept. I live in a city that is always on the go and ready to get things moving. Everything is at our fingertips to acquire in a moment’s time. We don’t need to wait long or go far for the things we want because we live in a city that never sleeps and has everything we need. When we do have to wait for something, we get impatient. When we can’t find or get the item we want, we get frustrated. We have become accustomed to the norm, or at least the norm in our minds, that waiting is just not an option.
Our Scripture readings for Mass today speak to us of waiting. Our lives are rooted in the reality that we are waiting for the Lord to come again in glory and majesty. We wait for the Lord to come and lead us to the kingdom that awaits us. But the question that many of us may ask is, when? When will the Lord come with power and glory? When will the Lord appear to us? When will that day of judgment come?
The answer is, we don’t know. We know neither the day nor the hour of when our Lord will come, but we wait in joyful anticipation for that day and hour. It is in that wait that the Lord Jesus calls us into a deeper relationship with him. It is in that waiting time that we prepare our minds and hearts to truly welcome and embrace Jesus into our lives, where we will spend eternity with him.
St. Paul tells us so beautifully in today’s second reading from his letter to the Thessalonians that we don’t wait with impatience or frustration, but we wait with hope. We wait in joyful hope that Jesus will raise all those who have fallen asleep. During this month of November, we pray in a special way for our beloved dead, who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. It is in hope that we pray we will be reunited with them in the heavenly kingdom. We do not grieve as those who will never see our loved ones again. Our faith gives us hope, knowing that when Jesus comes again, he will open the graves of all the dead, and death shall be no more.
Our Gospel passage from St. Matthew reminds us that waiting and being ready for Christ takes spiritual preparation. We must be prepared, with our lamps lit to welcome the Lord Jesus. We don’t know when that moment will come; even amid the darkness of night, we are called to be ready and prepared. We do not want to be like the foolish virgins who don’t have enough oil to have their lamps lit to welcome the bridegroom. For us as followers of Christ, true faith-filled waiting requires us to have self-control and prudence, just as the wise virgins displayed.
We may live in a city that never sleeps, but our final home will be a city that is eternal and will never pass away — which is heaven. As we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, let us pray that we do not become impatient, frustrated, or lose hope. We pray that our heavenly Father will allow us the strength and courage to persevere in the journey leading us to the joys of everlasting life. May Christ, in his infinite love and mercy, be at the center of our lives in all we say and do.
Father Alonzo Cox is pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and coordinator for the Vicariate of Black Catholic Concerns for the Diocese of Brooklyn.