‘Not yet’ can become the silent refrain of our lives

    The story is told of the great saint, Augustine, who in his young adult years flirted with young women and also simultaneously flirted with the idea of becoming a Christian. Trying to control his appetite for the former and trying to cultivate one for the latter, he uttered this prayer: “O, Lord, please make me chaste … but not yet!”
    “But not yet…”
    How often do we punctuate a promise or resolution with “but not yet…”? “I should go to confession … but not yet!” “I must tell my spouse that I love her … but not yet!” “I must tell my friend that I am sorry for hurting his feelings … but not yet!” “I really need to stop this bad habit … but not yet!” “I certainly need to get involved with my church in addressing the evil of racism and intolerance … but not yet!”
    Like the prodigal, it may take a number of “but not yets” before we come to our senses and see there is “no time like the present time.”
     “But not yet…” – a never-ending series of these often leads to a “not ever.” It’s a silent refrain to the same old song. It’s often embedded in our subconscious so that we don’t even know we are humming the tune when doing something else.  Life can become a series of “but not yets” without our even realizing it. It can become a part of our soul without our even noticing it – like an automatic pilot it guides us with little or no effort once we turn it on – consciously or otherwise.
    That is why we must be ever alert not to let this attitude guide us with regard to race and ethnicity. “But not yet” has a bunch of cousins as pointed out by late Episcopal Archdeacon Erwin Soukup of Chicago. We are all familiar with them:
    “We’ve never done it that way before.”
    “We’re not ready for that.”
    “We are doing all right without trying that.”
    “We tried it once before.”
    “We don’t have money for that.”
    “It’s not our job/responsibility.”
    “Something like that can’t work.”
    To which we add the following:
    “Everything is just fine here.”
    “We all get along just great.”
    “We don’t have that problem in our parish or school.”
    “There’s no need to stir the pot.”
    And … “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
    Our challenge is not to let these excuses and denials delay the necessity and urgency with which we need to address these issues so that they justify our thoughts that indeed we need to do something about racism – but not yet!
    So, brothers and sisters, let our “but not yet” become “why not now?” We need to join the great Rabbi Hillel and ask, “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?” Or we can hum the same old song, “but not yet…”
    Let us ask God for the grace to have the courage not just to know what the right thing to do is, but to have the courage to do it. For tomorrow is promised to no one. And the time for decision, for opportunity and for love is now! It’s the only time over which we control. We need to take advantage of the miracle of the Eternal Now!
    Joe Giarrusso Jr. is a retired magistrate who now mediates legal disputes. In addition to being the chairman of the Archdiocesan Racial Harmony Implementation Committee, he is on the staff of the Archdiocesan Spirituality Center. Giarrusso frequently gives workshops on prayer and spirituality. He is recognized as an expert in the area of domestic violence, and he addresses the public on this issue as well as teaches judges and lawyers locally and nationally.