It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the church’s mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development. We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities. We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own. Amen.
Archbishop Oscar Romero
The quote “we are prophets of a future not our own” is one of my favorites. It captures his entire life in one sentence. All that El Salvador can celebrate now was planted by his seeds of hope, justice and love.
Oscar Romero is featured as hero of the week over at http://www.moralheroes.org
Please check it out and share with your friends http://moralheroes.org/oscar-romero
I liked your comment and would like to post the response but I do not post comments without a name. If you would like to give me at least a first name I would be happy to post the comment as well as a link back to your site. I enjoyed the articles I found.
George