The students left this morning. I was utterly exhausted after 4 nights of little to no sleep and the emotional wear and tear of reliving my last days in Cuernavaca and then saying goodbye to them all. I slept for much of the day, and this afternoon my heart seems to be waffling between sadness, numbness and excitement for them all to get home and realize how much they saw here.
As I was preparing for our last meeting together a few days ago at the lake, I found this prayer written by Oscar Romero. I decided not to read it to the whole group - maybe taken out of context it could sound cheesy or idyllically altruistic - but it keeps coming to mind; knowing who Oscar Romero is, and having lived the last four months together it seems more than appropriate. This semester was hopefully just a tiny fraction
of the learning that will continue to expand and blossom as students resettle into North American life. And to any of you students who are home, in your carpeted houses, surrounded by family or lovers or friends, know that I'm in the back den with all of you on my mind.
A Prayer of Hope
It helps now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even 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 developments. We provide yeast that produces effects 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 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 the workers, not the master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.
As I was preparing for our last meeting together a few days ago at the lake, I found this prayer written by Oscar Romero. I decided not to read it to the whole group - maybe taken out of context it could sound cheesy or idyllically altruistic - but it keeps coming to mind; knowing who Oscar Romero is, and having lived the last four months together it seems more than appropriate. This semester was hopefully just a tiny fraction 
of the learning that will continue to expand and blossom as students resettle into North American life. And to any of you students who are home, in your carpeted houses, surrounded by family or lovers or friends, know that I'm in the back den with all of you on my mind.
3 comments:
Wow. Beautiful and profound thoughts. Thank you for sharing the prayer. On this Mother's Day it reminds me too of the dreams and intent of the parent, and the realizing of potentials that we get to witness as our kids grow. Thank you Rebekah for the great ride we've shared. love you, Mom
My dad found that and sent it to me a few weeks ago on a day where I really needed it. Thank you for sharing it. When I really stop to think about Romero, my mind is boggled.
I'm thinking about all of you in these next days of re-adjustment. Love to you.
Thanks, Rebekah, for your post and especially for the special prayer. It is helpful to Joe and me as we try to figure out which of the work can be completed before we leave and which can wait til January. I still have grades to make out, but the end is gaining on us. Be well. Naurine
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