I probably say “Yes!” more than I should. Without even thinking, the tiny word rolls right out of my mouth with no regard to cost or consequence. I say it without considering what it may require of me or my family. In my “yes,” I commit energy, resources, dollars, and time to the known and unknown invitation before me. Only after I say, “Oh yeah, no problem,” do I begin to weigh the impact of the new demands.
Most of the time, it works out. Other times, it becomes a giant train wreck of a moment when I’ve double-booked, overcommitted, and hyperextended an already full calendar and life.
At the same time, I don’t want to say a blanket “No” to everyone and everything. I’m not looking to shut down every invitation and opportunity in the interest of self-preservation.
I’m also not interested in extended deliberation before agreeing to have lunch or share in a volunteer opportunity. I don’t want to live in the land of “maybe.”
I was delighted when I walked into Kohl’s a few years ago and was enveloped in their new slogan, “In a word, Yes.” The customer service counter, relocated from the back corner of the store to the front, right next to the entrance, was unavoidable. Even if their “Yes” couldn’t always be a full-throated consent, they chose to pivot from a posture of possibility.
I’m glad that God’s “Yes!” to humanity and all creation throughout time is an intentional and pervasive one. God doesn’t agree to care for us out of guilt or pity, but out of all-encompassing parental love.
A prayer from Walter Brueggemann:
You are the God who is simple, direct, clear with us and for us.
You have committed yourself to us.
You have said yes to us in creation,
yes, to us in our birth,
yes to us in our baptism,
yes to us in our awakening this day.
But we are of another kind,
more accustomed to “perhaps, maybe, we´ll see,”
left in wonderment and ambiguity.
We live our lives not back to your yes,
but out of our endless “perhaps.”
So we pray for your mercy this day that we may live yes back to you,
yes with our time,
yes with our money,
yes with our sexuality,
yes with our strength and with our weakness,
yes to our neighbor,
yes and no longer “perhaps.”
In the name of your enfleshed yes to us,
even Jesus who is our yes into your future. Amen.
From Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth: Prayers of Walter Brueggemann ©2002
Thank you for your “yes.”