Following last month’s Pollinator on taking the long view of creation, one of our readers, Thomas Hieber, sent along a copy of what has become known as The Romero Prayer after Bishop Romero of San Salvador who was martyred in 1980. While it appears that the prayer was not actually written by him (see here), it remains a beautiful and meaningful piece and very appropriate for those of us called to this long ministry of caring for God’s creation. (I have it in my office now – Ed)
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
http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/romero-prayer
