Arch Bishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1980 in El Salvador. He inspired many with his prophetic life and solidarity with the poor and marginalized. In his prayer, known as “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own,” Romero offered liberation from being overwhelmed by the enormity of whatever task lies before us, trusting that we are not the Master builders, that a Spirit greater than us is ultimately responsible. The flip side of that liberation, though, is a sense of laziness, of procrastination, of thinking what we do now does not really matter, it’s all up to God, not us. Ignatius reminds us that we are free, yet we are called.

So in that sense of calling, I re-wrote the Romero prayer, to remind myself that while I am not the Master Builder, I am the worker, present in this moment, to do the will of God.

“Workers in this Moment to Do the Will of God”

It helps, now and then, to step up and take the short view.
The Kingdom is not only at hand,
It is even within us.
We accomplish in our lifetime a crucial piece of
The magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Everything we do is an opportunity, which is a way of saying
That the kingdom always lies within us.
Every statement can say a piece of what needs to be said
Every prayer is a partial expression of our faith
Every confession brings a step toward wholeness
Every pastoral visit brings a bit of life
Every program is an a effort to accomplish the church’s mission
Every set of goals and objectives is at least a place to begin
This is what we are about
We plant the seeds that today begin to grow
We water seeds that might otherwise wither
Knowing that what we do now may indeed make all the difference
We build upon foundations that God, through others, has gifted to us
We provide the energy that manifests God where there once was nothing
We can do something, and in realizing that there is a sense of calling.
This enables us to be a part of Something greater than ourselves
And to do it as God has gifted us. It may be challenging
But it is our calling, our way to know God in this moment
An opportunity for the Lord’s grace to move us and be stronger than we thought possible
We may never have this moment again, but this moment is the most glorious gift
the Masterbuilder can give the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not Messiahs
We are present in this moment to do the will of God.
Amen.

Photo: “International Workers Day March in Minneapolis” by Fibonacci Blue from Flickr (Used under Creative Commons license)

No related posts.