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 a 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 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; minister, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.
-Archbishop Oscar Romero
It is indeed liberating.
If somehow something can be liberating and terrifying at once, it is this Kingdom that Romero speaks of.
It is much more tempting to be a master builder than a laborer, more enticing to be a messiah than a minister.
In our world, it takes more skill to do the former but more patience, love, and character to do the latter.
Being grand and heroic is sexy. Continuing to forgive when there’s a lack of reciprocation is foolish.
And yet, we are told, that that’s the point. The way of Christ will look foolish.
It looks incredibly foolish to trust God. It seems ignorant to step out on faith.
To live out of a philosophy of abundance.
We are prophets of a future not our own, so we must give up on our dreams of control, power, and calculation.
Because the future is not ours, we can not make it abundant. We have to trust that it will be abundant. To force abundance is to trust scarcity.
Because the future is not ours, we will not have all of the answers. We have to trust that we will find joy not because we know, but because we are known. To strain for finite knowledge is to live in disbelief of the Infinite.
Because the future is not ours, we are not guaranteed a front row seat for the culmination. We have to trust that others will join in towards that end. To drive ourselves insane over seeing the end results will result in an absence of hope.
Go, live in faith.
Go, be known by the Infinite.
Go, join arms with those you have not yet met.
I'm a runner, writer, thinker, and pastor. I love to agitate people's consciences. I like to spend my time reading, running, and relaxing with family & friends.