Sunday, November 8, 2009

Prophets of a Future Not Our Own

—Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador (1917-1980)

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 small fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete,
which is another 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 will one day 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 effects 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 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
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5 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness. This was gorgeous.

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  2. My Dearest Daughter,

    How eloquently spoken to all of the Lord's ministers who work in fields and market places all over the world! We are the broken vessels, the ministers, hands and feet to all who cross our path. The Lord takes our worship, which whatever we do for Him in Love...and makes a beautiful tapestry of lives woven together. He is the master builder...and brings the impossible, where heaven touches earth. As He uses us...we are changed and are five fold ministers of a future yet to be written on the pages of lives...
    Mom...Pastor Sharon

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  3. One of my favorite things Romero said. So necessary to remember. And I love the photo of the San Damiano crucifix!

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  4. so good. thanks for sharing, baby.

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