Prayer of Oscar Romero

At the end of every year, the Prayer of Oscar Romero comes to mind for those of us who minister and work as teachers, pastors, mentors, and spiritual friends of all kinds. 

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond 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 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 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 effects 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 God’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,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Balanced and grounded.

Many of us talk about being balanced, or about being centered, anchored, grounded, in proportion, or at peace.  It seems to be the spiritual work in which all of us are most engaged in--being in the place of surrendered detachment in the midst of the turmoil of the world.

As people who follow God, we talk about this "surrendered detachment" as trust or as passionate patience or as cheerful obedience to God.  We follow Jesus who calls us to the paradox of being yoked with an easy burden and also called to deny ourselves and carry our cross.  We are called to abide and rest and also to persevere and give up ourselves.

Most deeply, this is the work of prayer in our lives.  Rather than prayer simply being a scheduled event, an intercessory list, or grace said around a table--prayer is living at the center of God.  Being balanced or centered or grounded has very little to do with our emotional/spiritual state.  Instead, it is about God's emotional/spiritual state. God invites us into the Center of the Divine, and when we open up our spirits to this, we find both our cross and our yoke of ease.

Henri Nouwen says: "Prayer is a way of life which allows you to find stillness in the midst of a world where you open your hands to God's promises and find hope for yourself, your neighbor, and your world."

Prayer is a way of life. We enter into prayer by the practice of releasing the white-knuckled grip that we have on or lives.  Slowly, daily, hourly we do the practice of living at the center of God. The place in which God defines us instead of ourselves defining us.

Today, I do this practice of living at the center of God.  It is not about me being centered, but about being willing for the Spirit to unclasp my clenched fists, so that I can be open to the Center of God.