Prophets of a Future Not Our Own

So this week in field education, we had a time of faith sharing, and my classmates who led it had us reflect a beautiful passage from the writings of Archbishop Oscar Romero. The words were so beautiful, I thought I'd post them here:

PROPHETS OF A FUTURE NOT OUR OWN

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 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 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 th ened 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.