A great quote from Bishop Oscar Romero. This is a helpful reminder to me that ministry is God's work. It is something he is doing. I simply have the privilege of participating. It is a work that is far beyond me. It doesn't depend on me and my performance. I don't have to be a messiah. I am a minister of what God has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. He is the master builder and messiah.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetimes only a tiny fraction of that 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.
That 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 will produce 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 is is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and to 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 the master builder; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future, not our own."
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