Peace
Often in my life I have waffled between faithful and faithless. I find that in more trying times, I constantly return to prayer seeking comfort which I cannot seem to obtain elsewhere. Fortunately for me, the answer to Uganda has come from my own identification with a prayer by Oscar Romero. This allowed me to put to words an answer to my struggles with feeling like I hadn't done enough and feeling as though I needed to stay. It follows:
"The kingdom is not only beyond our own efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s word.
Nothing that we do is complete.
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 includes everything that we are about.
We all plant the seed that one day will grow.
We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces efforts far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything.
Knowing this enables us to do something, and to do it well.
Our work may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way.
Our actions present 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 the workers, not master builders.
We are ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen"
We accomplish in our lifetime only a fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s word.
Nothing that we do is complete.
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 includes everything that we are about.
We all plant the seed that one day will grow.
We water the seeds already planted, knowing that they hold promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces efforts far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything.
Knowing this enables us to do something, and to do it well.
Our work may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way.
Our actions present 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 the workers, not master builders.
We are ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen"
Oscar Romero's prayer identifies with the problem that service is a continuous effort. Never is it finished in this world. There will always be problems to solve and people to help. This in mind, it is not at all reasonable to believe that we can save everyone and solve everything, in essence leaving the world a perfect place. No, this perfection is something that should be continuously sought after, but never actually expected. One could say to expect anything less would be weak, but I would say that we should expect imperfection, but also expect that God will fill the gap we failed to meet. Ultimately then, we are prophets of a future not our own, serving others as a sign of the promise that God will soon finish the job we started.