Your Job is That Important!
theophilus July 12th, 2009
How many of us have just gone through life doing our own thing; until, BAM, we get the powerful tugging of our soul that tells us we are supposed to do something else?
Today’s gospel (Mark 6) tells the story of the Apostles being sent out two-by-two to proclaim the Kingdom. At some point, whether they were fishermen, tax collectors, or hangers-on, they were hit square between the eyes by the calling of Christ and they followed our Lord.
And then today’s first reading (Amos 7) has the prophet Amos telling the priest Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” Amos was a simple shepherd and arborist, yet God called him and he followed.
Like the Apostles and Amos, we are called!
We cannot think that we are just an accountant, machinist, carpenter, lawyer, assistant, sales person, first-responder, soldier, account executive or however we choose to define what we do for a living. No, we are disciples of Christ, children of God, given life to bear fruit in the building of Christ’s kingdom here on earth.
No part of our lives can be separate from Christ. Nothing we do, say or think can be considered distinct from our place in Christ’s universal Church.
We don’t have it easy in this regard. Christ physically called the Apostles, so it would have been pretty hard for them to miss the point of what they were being called to do. God got pretty personal with Amos, so it was rather hard for him to ignore his calling. It would be easier if we were so divinely inspired, but most of us are not. We must rely on our faith and the drive of the Holy Spirit that has led us to whatever it is that we do. We must then do that job as if God himself gave us that job and Christ himself is our boss. If you cannot feel that way about your jobs then it is time to look for something else. And if you are unemployed, then it is time to look deep within your soul and figure out what it is that God expects of you at this moment of time.
God is in control; he has a plan for each of us. We must listen and figure out what it is that he intends of us.
It may not be going out Noah’s Ark like (i.e. two-by-two) or prophesying to the head of your government, but God does call you to do something. And that something is instrumental in building Christ’s kingdom.
This week, do your job, treat your family, contribute to your community, and live your life as if Christ’s kingdom hangs in the balance. The way you live your life is that important.
