O-S-S-I is for
On Saints' Secular Industry
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I had a large sheet of newsprint on an easel in the narthex and as people entered asked them to list their present or past vocations and how they spend their days on the large sheet of paper.
My sermon began by interviewing Wayne Prem, an estate lawyer, about his work. We sat in chairs facing each other next to the pulpit for a conversational setting. I had talked with Wayne ahead of time about these questions and his responses, to be ready to preach. I asked:
Wayne, what is your vocation? How would you describe your occupation?
What do you do in any given day's work?
What do you like about your work?
What gifts do you feel God has given you to do your work?
How does your faith impact your work?
Are you an agent of God in your work? How?
Are you an agent of God in your daily life in other ways or in other vocations? (at home, with your family, in the community, at church...)
Anything else you'd like to mention about your faith and work?
Then I moved to the pulpit and "crossed" the interview with Mark 10:17-27.
Dear friends in Christ, we often talk about Jesus as a healer, preacher, teacher, miracle-worker, and as a Savior. But have you ever thought of Jesus as a lawyer? When Wayne and I talked this past week to prepare for worship today, I thought of Jesus' interaction with the young man in today's Gospel lesson. The man comes to Jesus asking, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Wayne mentioned how clients come to him with questions they want answered or problems they need to solve. Wayne listens with caring attention, asks questions and presents options. He teaches about applicable laws, talks with other professionals, and uses his many gifts to create a solution that is in the best interests of his client.
This is a lot like what Jesus does in today's Gospel lesson. The man comes with a question, and Jesus reminds him of the law. Jesus says, "You know the commandments" and goes on to list some of them. This discussion of the law is similar to Wayne's work. But the most important similarity between this Bible story and Wayne's story is Jesus' attitude toward the man. Mark writes, "Jesus, looking at him, loved him." In our interview, Wayne talked a lot about caring for his clients, caring for their issues, and showing this care by being patient and listening to the client's thoughts and concerns. As a baptized child of God, Wayne knows that Christ cares for him, and he follows Christ's command to care for others.
There is one big difference between today's Gospel lesson and Wayne's reflections on faith and work, however. The man in Mark's Gospel asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Living where we do on this side of the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we know the answer to that question. Jesus Christ died on the cross and was raised from the dead to forgive our sins and to give us eternal life. Eternal life, life in God's Kingdom, is a free gift and there is nothing we must do to earn it. By God's grace, through faith in God's promises, we are saved. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has freed us from worrying about what we must do to inherit eternal life.
God has freed us to act on our faith and live our daily lives in service to God and to others. When you were baptized, you were made a part of God's family and given a baptismal calling, the calling to be God's people and to live out your faith. Our lesson from 1 Peter states that we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people." As members of this royal priesthood, you are agents for God as you live out your baptism in your work, your home life, and your role in the wider community.
Wayne gave us one look at how a person of faith loves God and serves the neighbor through the law profession. Gathered here today, we represent many different callings, vocations, and occupations, as you listed as you came into worship. No matter what your age or your employment, you have roles and responsibilities that you fulfill in daily life, such as being a grandparent, a student, a son or daughter, a retiree, a church member, a parent, a spouse, a friend, or a member of a retirement community or a neighborhood. These are all callings, requiring different gifts and abilities. In 1 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that "there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone."
As we worship God today, I hope you will feel encouraged about how you serve God and neighbor as you use your gifts in your many vocations: in work, relationships, and community life. Martin Luther wrote, "in every human creature a good work of a particular calling ought to follow faith. This work pleases God on account of faith."
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, isn't that wonderful news --because of your faith, your daily work pleases God. As members of the body of Christ, we are now going to have a brief time of talking together about our daily work and daily life, about how we live out our faith in our particular callings. There are three questions printed in the worship program for you to discuss. Please feel free to get up and move around, across the aisle or to a different pew, to find one or two other people for a few minutes of discussion. This is a time to learn more about each other and our daily lives, and to encourage each other as we live out our faith in the callings God has given us. You can pick one of the questions or touch on all of them if you wish. The questions are similar to what Wayne and I discussed in our interview:
I will let you know when it is time to stop the conversations, but please use this opportunity to explore how you love God and serve your neighbor in your daily life and work. You may begin.
paige evers