Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
“Lord willing!” I remember my sister-in-law sharing that her grandmother would end every meeting with this phrase. When they were saying goodbye or “see you next week”, she would add on a matter-of-fact “Lord willing!” I remember being struck by how freeing this simple, yet profound phrase, can be. I also remember thinking – “wow, she knows she’s not in control!”
I had a similar thought when reading the 13th chapter of James for our first reading today. He says “you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears. Instead you should say, ‘If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that’” (James 4: 14 – 15). Now I don’t know about you, but I like to be in control. I have a hard time accepting how fragile and fleeting this life can be. We really have no idea what our lives will be like tomorrow, but I like to trick myself into thinking that I do and thinking that I am in control. “Lord willing!” I will make up tomorrow and “Lord willing!” I will go to work and “Lord willing!” I will come back home and have dinner with my family. But the truth is, none of this is guaranteed. Every single moment we have here on this Earth is a gift. This paradigm shift from I am in control to God is in control can be very powerful. It fosters a profound humility, a deep sense of gratitude and an urgency to use each moment for God.
When we live our lives drawing from this deep well of gratitude our thoughts, words and actions are different. As with any gift, we treat the gift of each moment with more respect, honoring how special and unique it is. This brings me to the last line of our first reading. James tells us, “So for one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin” (James 4:17) Knowing that our time here is finite and that we are mortal and are not in control, gives this last line depth and power. If we know the right thing to do, we must do it. “Lord willing!” we will have another chance to do the right thing next time, but…what if we don’t?
Amen.
—AJ Grimm