Prophets of a Future Not Our Own
It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The kindom 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 (Love's) work. Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kindom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
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.
Liz Sorensen Wessel
Pencil drawing by ~liz
Note: attributed to Saint Oscar Romero, though it was actually written by Bishop Ken Untener in 1979 as a reflection on Romero's life. (Adapted)
Journal of Sacred Work 
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