Here is a prayer for the beginning of the work week. It’s a reworking of the poem “Prophets of a Future Not Our Own,” by Lisa Kelly at the Ignatian Life blog [link no longer available]. She did it, she says, “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.”
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.
