Archbishop Oscar Romero was a
minister in San Salvador when in 1980, he was assassinated for his commitment
to justice for all people and his ministry to the poor. He was killed while celebrating Mass, in the
middle of worship. He spoke out against the political injustices he saw and the
church’s complacency. Many of us have
not heard his story of courage, love, justice, and faith. I am taken by a prayer that is attributed to
the way he lived his life. Please pray
these words aloud with me:
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 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 the 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.
May the words of this prayer be
a reminder that what we do and who we are is part of the unfolding, ongoing,
unending, holy symphony God is composing and conducting with all creation in
these days. Amen.
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