"I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
Who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
Who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
Who do what has to be done again and again."
~ Marge Percy, To Be of Use
Do you know people like the ones Marge Percy describes? I certainly do. Our world is full of them. They don’t often get the recognition they deserve….many times they actually shy away from that recognition. Our church is full of them. There are people who spend countless hours preparing, cleaning up, studying, praying, serving, washing hands that are hurt, feeding stomachs that are hungry….pulling like water buffalo day after day, week after week.
It takes much patience to do the work of change these days. Massive patience. I see it all around me…..in schools, in churches, in communities, in our country, in the world. As humans we would mostly like it if things stayed predictable, easy, the ‘way they’ve always been’. But the truth is the world is always changing, the ways we are called to live and be with one another are always growing and taking on a new shape. Our response to this movement can be one of openness and possibility or gritting our teeth and digging in our heels. Both carry with them a degree of pain. But only one will create forward motion, only one will bring about growth.
As I read the scriptures, the evolving story of God in the world is one of forward motion. We are moving toward something. Throughout the Hebrew scriptures the people are often on a journey, a pilgrimage, in which each step brings about a greater understanding of how the Holy is revealed. As Jesus walked from town to town healing and bringing hope to those he met, he was followed by people who wanted to become a part of the Way. The Way he offered was a way of change in a world that reeked of oppression and injustice. And so he walked, patiently straining to move things forward.
Today I give thanks for all the saints who have labored, who have given their lives to do what needed to be done. Today I give thanks for all the saints who are laboring, who continue to give their lives to what needs to be done…..again and again and again.
"I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:19