Reading Francis

God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time.
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as he did, the sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it.
Trusting that he will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him forever.

-Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

I know Dietrich Bonhoeffer is having a moment, deservedly, but if I had to pick one 20th century theologian on which to do a really deep dive, it would be Reinhold Niebuhr. His Nature and Destiny of Man is one of the few things I remember from seminary, and which still provide my core understanding of who we are as humans and, especially, how to understand our brokenness.

Even so, I didn’t realize that he had composed the serenity prayer that is so oft quoted, nor did I know until VERY recently that the part we all have memorized (or that we spoof: I have often cited the “coffee for what I can change and wine to accept what I cannot” parody) is only the opening line of a longer prayer.

I was telling someone about the long version today, so I figured I’d share it here, in case you need it.