As mentioned recently in Christianity Today,
"the calling of those who engage in business is as noble as those God calls to more "spiritual" pursuits. Luther dropped a bomb shell on the late medieval world when he wrote: "The works of monks and priests, however holy and arduous they be, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but that all works are measured before God by faith alone." That means that the office and the trading floor must be conceived of as arenas for service every bit as much as the church.
Can I ask why I have seldom heard Luther's wonderful ideas expounded in church? Why also is there so little discussion of workplace issues within the context of the church? Should not one of the jobs of the church be the equipping of its members to have a sense of relevance and dignity in their work?
All is not lost. There are some relatively good resources for beginning to make connections between faith and work - but most are on the web. I would love to hear if you know of more ......post a comment!
1 comment:
Steve-
I thought you didn't like the "dead white guys!" Glad to hear you are getting into Luther. Just read his "Table Talk." Read it a little at a time...maybe after a meal. Five minutes a day.
Here is one of my favorite Luther quotes. "In marriage, it is a wife's duty to make her husband glad that he has returned home. It is a husband's duty to make his wife sad that he must leave."
The reason you don't hear about Luther (or Calvin, Knox, Augustine, Acquinas, Bunyan, etc.) is that the seminaries that train pastors today barely have their students read these writers anymore! Not only that, many churchgoers today are afflicted with the curse of presentism. They believe that if something was said more than, say, 20 years ago, it can't possibly matter to anyone. Today's ideal sermon is an inoffensive series of humorous anecdotes about contemporary life (each with a pithy punch line) and a postive, uplifting theme.
I actually heard of a pastor who would apologize to his congregation before quoting anyone who wasn't a boomer!
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