A Future Not Our Own

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyound our efforts,
it is 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 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 sets of goal and objections include everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant 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 effort beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
and opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the results ....
We are prophets of a future not our own.

The poem above was coined by Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. He was assassinated for speaking up for God's kingom and justice in 1980. Here are some important words right before his death:

From his Last Homily

One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives.

Words to a Reporter: Few Days Before His Death

You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God, which is the people, will never perish.

The Kingdom of God that is encompassing my thoughts