The Weekly View - September 3, 2021
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In This Issue
- Weekly Message from Rev. Joanne Whitt
- Weekly Facebook Video
- Announcements & Upcoming Events
- Outreach Opportunities
message from rev. whitt
Dear St. Luke family,
The Sunday before Labor Day is the day set aside to remind us that every Christian is called to service to God, to be part of God’s drama, as one writer puts it, even if we seem only to have a bit part and haven’t read the whole script. God needs every single one of us. The word we use to describe this calling is “vocation,” which comes from the Latin for voice or calling, and this Sunday is Christian Vocation Sunday.
Vocation isn’t limited to paid work or even volunteer work. How we use our time, our resources, our special talents – all these are part of our vocational response to God’s call. As the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us…” So, whatever our situation, whatever our gifts, whatever our role or task, we who are part of the body of Christ are to respond accordingly. That isn’t always easy at work, especially when our culture so often values the bottom line above all else. But our calling as Christians is to go beyond the question of, “Is it profitable?” and even “Is it legal?” An article by Christian ethicists includes these questions we might ask ourselves when faced with an ethical dilemma in the workplace:
- Will my actions show love to the others involved in the situation?
- What answer does my own conscience tell me will bring me inner peace, even though it may also be painful?
- What faith example will I provide to my co-workers and my family by the decision I make?
This Sunday, we’ll hear from three of you, three members of our community, describing how they work out their Christian discipleship in the workplace or as volunteers. It might inspire you to consider: What is your calling? On the one hand, Howard Thurman wrote, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” On the other hand, Frederick Buechner wrote, “The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you’ve presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing cigarette ads, the chances are you’ve missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met requirement (b), but if most of the time you’re bored and depressed by it, the chances are you have not only bypassed (a) but probably aren’t helping your patients much either. … Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
Join us Sunday as we explore vocation and calling. We’ll be in the sanctuary and on Zoom at 10:00 a.m. Don’t forget that a week from Sunday, September 12, is the second Sunday of the month and so there will be no online worship. It’s also Homecoming Sunday, a very festive day of music and celebration – it will be worth putting on a mask and showing up in person!
Grace and peace,
Joanne Whitt
Interim Pastor