“We are prophets of a future that is not our own…” This reflection was written by Oscar Romero, a courageous churchman martyred in El Salvador in 1980 for helping poor people. This reflection is about how we are all part of God’s plan. Called to use our talents and natural inclinations to the best of our ability. We are not doing it for ourselves. We may never see or know the results of our efforts and our example. But we are nonetheless doing the Lord’s work.
“It helps, now and then, to step back and take the 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 the Lord’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 should 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 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 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 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 that is not our own.”
Ed's Blog 