PRAYER BEFORE COMMUNION

Incline our hearts, O God, that by the grace of your Holy Spirit, we may worthily approach these sacred mysteries and offer ourselves to you in answering love. AMEN

(Prayers New and Old, Forward Movement)

In a particularly chaotic set of circumstances last month, I was assured on more than one occasion with the words: “It’ll all work out in the end,” and “Don’t worry; everything will be fine” and the classic, “All will be well.” This last is a pared-down version of Julian of Norwich’s famous words, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well,” which have brought comfort to Christians for hundreds of years.

Yes, such sayings can be wonderfully reassuring—unless they’re being offered in the moment when you are knee-deep in a problem and wondering whether someone, maybe even you, ought to be doing something about it. Then, these kinds of comments can be really frustrating to hear.

I know they are intended to bring calm by suggesting that order and peace will return soon. And I agree that life is filled with the unexpected, and we must roll with that. But I note that sometimes the folks who most readily offer these pearls of wisdom often have the luxury of not caring or not having to try. They can sit back and observe because they are never directly in the middle of the mess that needs tidying up.

What frustrates me especially is when spiritual language gets used as a substitute for responsibility. “Let go and let God” can be a beautiful reminder that we are not in control of everything. But occasionally it gets translated into something closer to “do nothing and hope for the best.” Problems are left unaddressed, difficult conversations are avoided, and necessary decisions are postponed because somehow faith has become confused with keeping fingers crossed and knocking on wood.

Trusting in the workings of the Holy Spirit and taking initiative aren’t opposites. But sometimes I wonder whether we put more on the Holy Spirit’s to-do list than on our own. I am reminded now of the old joke about the priest who never prepared his sermons in advance but who probably should have. On a Sunday he notices the bishop is in attendance, and at the end of the service (in order to make excuses for his ill-preparedness) the priest assures the bishop, “I just step up to the pulpit and trust the Holy Spirit to give me the words.” To which the bishop replies, “Next week, please prepare. Today the Holy Spirit was vague, repetitive, and had nothing useful to say about the Gospel reading.” Not a true story! But a good joke and a funny example of the mistaken hope that the Spirit will do for us what we would rather not do ourselves.

“It’ll all work out” doesn’t mean “do nothing.” It means “don’t panic” (in large friendly letters, if you like.) And the truth of this is seen in all the stories of Scripture where believers are trusting but far from passive. Moses still has to confront Pharaoh and lead his people. Mary still has to live out her magnificent “Yes” to the incarnation. The disciples still have to figure out how to feed the crowd with five loaves and two fishes. Trusting God does not mean sitting comfortably on the sidelines while waiting for heaven to sort things out. More often it means stepping forward into uncertainty and doing the tasks that are ours to do.

I believe that things do work out in the end. I myself have been known to say “All shall be well.” But for me, it’s about freedom from believing everything depends on me. It’s about trusting God with the outcome, while at the same time still rolling up my sleeves and showing up for the work. Despite whatever is going on around me and the number of things that need to be done, I know God rarely asks us to do everything. God simply asks us to do the next faithful thing on our to-do lists, trusting that, in ways we cannot yet see, God and the Spirit will be powerfully at work in and through our efforts.

 Prayer:

Loving God, give us wisdom to know what is beyond our control and courage to do what is within it. Forgive us for the times we’ve handed you a to-do list that really belonged to us. Forgive us when we are tempted to say, “Let go and let God,” because we’d rather not pick up a phone, attend a meeting, write an email, lend a hand, or take the next faithful step. Help us to trust you fully, to work faithfully, and to remember that your Spirit is our helper, guide and source of strength for action.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.