All work matters, when creating God’s vision

Every first day of the month of May, we celebrate the feast of Joseph the Worker, (Workers Day). An even that reminds us the dignity of human labour. Every work we do, we are continuing the creative role of God on earth. Doing the work of God was also seen in the early church. The increasing number of believers in the early church indicates that the work of God’s kingdom through the early Christian community was still highly successful, but they had to deal with problem that comes with it. They now had to deal with internal disputes and potential divisions.

How they dealt the problem made all the difference. The early church took its responsibility to help support widows. This gave rise to the institution of the Seven Deacons. It gives the important sense that the work of serving those in need is on a par with the apostolic work of prayer and preaching. The apostles serve the word, and the deacons serve those in need. Their service is qualitatively the same, although the specific tasks and skills are different.

Both are essential in the formation of God’s people and for the witness of God’s people in the world. The life of the community depends upon these forms of service. It does not give us the sense that one is more powerful or more spiritual than the other. The question is, which is more important than the other? Could the apostles themselves have imagined that they were chosen to serve the word because they are more gifted than those who are chosen to serve tables? Is that what they mean when they say it would not be right to neglect serving the word in order to serve tables? The gospel of Christ goes deeper than this. In the Christian community there is no source of status. A more consistent understanding would be that if you’re called to serve the word of God, you shouldn’t neglect serving the word in order to do something else.

Likewise, if you’re called to serve tables, you shouldn’t neglect serving tables in order to do something else. People may be called to different tasks, but there is no biblical reason to regard some callings as higher than others.

This has strong importance in our world today.

Frequently, workers in food service occupations find themselves in low-status jobs with inadequate pay, poor benefits, and difficult or even abusive working conditions. In God’s eyes, working in food service or
any other occupation is not a demeaning job, but a form of service on par with the work of the Apostles. What can Christians do to make this vision a reality in today’s places of work?

The workers best suited to heal the ethnic divide in the Acts 6 community are qualified because they are “known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” Like those qualified for prayer and preaching, the table servers’ ability is the result of spiritual power. Nothing less than the power of the Spirit makes possible meaningful, community-building, peace-making work among Christians. This passage helps us to see that all work that builds the community that promotes justice, goodness, and beauty, is service to the world.

Do we recognise the equal ministry of the pastor who preaches the word, the mother and father who provide a loving home for their children, and the accountant who gives a just and honest statement of her employer’s expenditures? Do we understand that they are all reliant upon the Spirit to do their work for the good of the community?

Every manner of good work has the capacity by the power of the Spirit to be a means of participation in God’s renewal of the world.

A blessed Sunday to you!

Fr Ejikeme