Readings: IS 65:17-21; JN 4:43-54
In the first reading, Isaiah tells us that God says, “I am about to create a new heavens and earth…,” and that it will be a place where people live full and long lives – living in the houses that they built and living off of the land that they cultivate. Sounds like a great plan and one that anyone who hungers for justice longs for.
At this point, however, I might pull God aside and say, “Ummm, God. I LOVE the idea. Did you have a sense of when you might be “about to” do this? I mean even a ballpark idea of timing….”
In the gospel, a royal official approaches Jesus for a healing for his son. Jesus sends him away telling him to trust that it’s going to happen. And the royal official who is likely used to royal treatment has to go home like everyone else – hoping that the promise comes true at some future point.
Both of these readings are about faith and trust in a future that has not yet arrived.
One author whose work I return to over and over is Joanna Macy. Her book Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy (written with Chris Johnstone) remains a “guide” for me related to these readings.
Macy says that Active Hope has 3 main steps: First, we take in a clear view of reality; second, we identify what we hope for in terms of the direction we’d like things to move in or the values we’d like to see expressed; and third, we take steps to move ourselves or our situation in that direction. She goes on to say that since this kind of hope doesn’t require our optimism, we can apply it even in areas where we feel hopeless.
I would imagine that the author of Isaiah as well as the royal official could relate to this. Perhaps each had a sinking feeling that things might not really improve, yet they were clear about what they faced, identified the direction they wanted to move in and took steps to get there.
Maybe we’re in the same boat with situations in our lives – whether personal or collective. We have brought our situation(s) to God and are now waiting for a response.
And we wait.
I do not have a good response as to why some prayers seemingly get answered and some do not. I am not sure why justice and equity are so delayed in this world. I don’t know why some situations get healed and some do not. And I am always confused by some of the gospel healing stories because they can sometimes carry the message that “if you just have enough faith the healing would have happened,” and I am just not sure that this is true.
And so I, like you, live in a complicated in-between space of faith, trust and hope.
I often return to a prayer I have printed out that sits taped to my wall at work (which I originally thought was written by Archbishop Oscar Romero but have since found was actually written by then Fr. Ken Untener). While it doesn’t totally respond to everything I mention today, it provides me with some peace, and I hope it does for you. For today, perhaps we just lift up all that we hold in faith and trust.
Prophets of a Future Not Our Own
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent
enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of
saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an
opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master
builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
13 Comments
Francene C McCarthy
I love your prayer, especially the part that says “we cannot do everything but there is liberation in knowing we can do something”. It reminds me of Mother Teresa’s “I can do small things with great faith” Thank you for your words of wisdom, as always!
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks, Francene. I love that quote from Mother Teresa!
Kathy Conti
This was very helpful to me today and brought me some degree of peace as I wait for a resolution to family conflict
Mike Boucher Author
Thanks for sharing that, Kathy. We will hold your situation in prayer with you!
Sue Spoonhower
Thank you, Mike, for your reflection and reaction to today’s readings. And thanks for sharing the prayer that might be the only possible and heartfelt response that I can truly embrace.
Mike Boucher Author
Amen, Sue!
Mike Bleeg
I have copied the prayer and will post it as an on-going reminder of hope and the future.
Mike Boucher Author
May it provide many returns, Mike!
Barb Simmons
I like the question asking God for maybe a ballpark idea of timing. It reminds me of a cartoon I saw of a cat seeming to be sitting in a meditative state with paws outstretched saying, “Come on inner peace. I don’t have all day”. We do like answers, don’t we? The prayer you posted is great. I will refer to it often. Thank you, Mike.
Mike Boucher Author
For the record, Barb, God has yet to provide adequate time frames for me…And I, like the cat, also try to accelerate inner peace’s arrival. Glad the prayer resonated.
Patrick Dwyer
I love that prayer and it definitely gets an asterisk. Just do what I can. I don’t need to wait; just begin. Reach out, call or text a friend to let them know you care.Reflect, pray, the journey continues. Just live out Lent and trust and know God is well pleased.
Mike Boucher Author
Beautiful summary, Partrick: Do what I can. No need to wait. Reach out. Reflect. Pray.
Thank you!
Chris Stephen Adams
I loved the “Romero Prayer”. Thanks so much, Mike, for your continued reflections and wisdom sharing. I was motivated to check the Wiki entry for (deceased) Bishop Untener of Michigan. One section about “Poverty” made me smile: “Untener’s easygoing personality and free nature manifested themselves in many ways, often to comic effect. Upon his consecration, he sold the bishop’s mansion and began a career-long practice of living for periods of time in the various rectories of his priests. He was known to have hosted a cherry stone spitting contest at the diocese every spring. Another example was a line he delivered during a greeting at the Saginaw Civic Center after his consecration: “Hello, I’m Ken, and I’ll be your waiter.” Untener also was made an honorary member of the Saginaw Gears hockey team in the early 1980s and took to the ice in a Gears jersey but was unable to help the team win; he also played hockey regularly with friends for many years after becoming a bishop.”
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