"The Work God Gives You To Do" September 4, 2006

Labor Day arose from the conditions of the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. In the mid-1800s, factory jobs in cities promised workers higher wages and better opportunity than had been true on the farm, but many found themselves working 12 to 14 hour days in dingy and often-dangerous conditions, with Sunday as their only day off each week. By the 1870s, labor unions were being born, and there was increasing talk about raising the dignity of workers. Politicians started listening. In 1882, the New York legislature created a state Labor Day holiday. Over the next ten years, 23 other states followed suit, and, in 1894, Congress created the federal Labor Day holiday. The purpose of the holiday was to set aside time to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers, the contributions that workers have made to the strength and prosperity and well-being of our nation.

That’s what you’ve been thinking about, all weekend long, right? Unfortunately, as the decades pass, we lose sight of the significance of a holiday, and that’s happened in this case. Today, ironically, Labor Day means extra work for many – to pull off big sales at car dealers and carpet outlets and shopping malls! For many, Labor Day simply serves as a marker on the calendar: as we turn away from summer, and towards fall. For public school children in many states, this weekend is seen as the last hours of freedom before school begins on Tuesday.

Here’s what I’d like to do. I’d like to re-imagine Labor Day – as a religious holiday (holy day)! That’s because the value of your work is a major theme in Martin Luther’s theology. According to Luther, your work is given to you by God. Your baptism is your commission to vocation. In your everyday lives, where God has placed you – in your work situations and among the people you see regularly – your vocation is to work for the extension of God’s kingdom on earth.

How can we see signs that “your kingdom [is] com[ing]?” According to Scripture and the witness of the saints, it is when people treat others in grace-filled ways; when people build each other up; when people engage in peacemaking, and work for justice, and care for those in need, and to care for our own health and well-being even as we work to serve others. These are just a few examples of what our baptismal vocation looks like.

Here’s something important. This is work you are called to do in your daily lives! It can be work you do for pay. It can be volunteer work. It is work that rarely makes headlines. But it is work given to us by God.

What does that work look like, in your day-to-day lives? To help raise some possibilities, this morning, several of our members will share something about the work that God gives them to do.

Nelia Heide is a retired sales executive and former school teacher, who moved here with her husband, Walt, from New Jersey. Nelia now serves in a number of volunteer capacities, offering her excellent administrative and leadership gifts. Her understanding of her ministry has evolved over those life transitions.

I remember the Sunday a few years ago when I was shaking hands with Pastor after the service and he asked me, “How is your ministry at the Woman’s Club doing?” I don’t remember my exact words, but I was definitely surprised at the question, and I answered something to the effect that “I’ve never really thought of that as my ministry.”

But I couldn’t get his question out of my head?

You see, my thinking was…I was involved with the Woman’s Club as a social group doing service related activities, yes, but this was not my ministry…not that one place that I was going to choose where I would be able to “make a difference.” After all, a ministry is a serious thing that you chose after exploring all the possibilities. But Pastor’s question that Sunday gave me a whole different perspective. It put me on another track.

What if I did think of my time spent with Women’s Club as my ministry?

It didn’t have to be my only ministry.

What I found over the past several years, since that eye-opening question, is that the work God gives you to do, your ministries, comes to you in many ways. Some you search for, some find you; others are thrust upon you, and some you inherit.

I’d like to share with you how some of the ministries that make up my life have come about.

My work with the Christian Education Committee seemed to find me. My teaching background was in elementary education, and I had always thought of myself as a teacher even though I had left teaching to join the business world some 18 years before. But even there, I would operate with the same guidelines in mind as with teaching. Discover the needs; meet the needs. Linda Loyd nurtured my coming to this committee where I work with others to help meet the Faith Formation needs of our congregation.

I learned how you inherit ministries the day Ursula Murden said to me she wanted to nominate me for the Senior Center board of directors. Ursula and Bob were instrumental in the building of the Historic Triangle Senior Center and felt it was time to pass on their ministry. I think the way Ursula put it was---“Vee need new blood!” When someone asks you to carry on a ministry that they have devoted so much time, energy and love to, it is impossible to say no.

My ministry at the Senior Center is a focal point for comprehensive, coordinated senior activities that enrich the spirit and feed the minds and bodies of all Seniors in the Greater Williamsburg area.

At the same time I was asked to be chairperson for the Senior Center Board a year ago, the Center took on a new challenge. It was asked to run the new RIDES program which was the product of various agencies in town, including the SR Center, FISH, Faith In Action and others, collaborating to provide a single transportation service for seniors over 55 and disabled of any age to get them to their non-emergency medical appointments. We welcome any volunteers who may want to add driving for RIDES to their ministries.

Now the problem with ministries is you sometimes put too much time in to a single ministry, to the detriment of your other ministries. I learned this when I was getting some feedback from my husband, Walt, regarding the amount of time I was working on Senior Center “stuff”, as he calls it. With my new found feelings of living my faith through my ministries, I was explaining to him how important these ministries were to me. And here are the words from Walt I can still hear as he replied, “ What about your ministry here at home with me?”

First of all he used the right words to get my attention, and secondly HE WAS RIGHT.

Again my idea of ministry expanded. I was throwing myself into all these new areas and needed to remind myself of the other areas I had been neglecting.

I’ve always had this problem with maintaining balance in my life, as some of you may have from time to time in your lives. It should be easier in retirement where there are not as many “have to dos” competing for your time.

But somehow with all the choices now available, it’s even more difficult to maintain that balance. But what is helping me with this is thinking in terms of balancing ministries, rather than that elusive “finding balance.” This seems to make it easier for me to work towards that good balance.

A few weeks ago Pastor talked about how others know we are Christians. When I went on to the St. Stephen website to reread that sermon, I wandered into Pastor Ballentine’s blog and found a quote he was sharing from the late Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmemann. His words reinforced for me the opportunities that I have available to live out my faith through my ministries.

Schmemann writes, "We have no idea how, in fact, we constantly influence one another by our words, by the very 'tonality' of our personality. And ultimately people are converted to God, not because someone was able to give brilliant explanations, but because they saw in the other person that light, joy, depth, seriousness, love which alone reveal the presence and the power of God in the world."

In all of my daily ministries, I have the opportunity to show that light, that joy, and love to everyone I am with, whether it is the cashier at the grocery store, a person I am driving to a medical appointment, my husband, on the phone with a grandchild, at a board meeting of the Senior Center or working with the Christian Ed Committee.

What I have come to realize is that this ministry takes place wherever I am. Knowing this, I have the total sense that I am constantly practicing my faith.

Schmemann has some additional thoughts that have proved so true in guiding the direction of my work. “A casual conversation…can do more for communicating a vision of life, an attitude toward others or toward work, than formal preaching. It can sow the seeds of a question, of the possibility of a different approach to life, the desire to know more.”

It was pastor’s casual question that led me to a whole new approach to my life’s ministries.

Christine Hallman has been at St. Stephen since she was an undergraduate at the College of William and Mary, where she met her husband, Jonathan. Christine works for the health of others as a social worker, counselor and educator. But she’s also mindful that we are more than what we do, and she raises the importance for our ministries of caring for our own health as well! Here is what Christine has to share:

Before I start I feel the need to emphasize that this is my understanding of things at this point in my faith journey, but my understanding is subject to change any moment at God's will. I do lots of different kind of work for God. I am a counselor, an educator, an advocate, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a neighbor, ... the list goes on and on.

I think that the most important work that I do is taking care of myself and living each day one day at a time trying to do God’s will. I consider God my perfect parent who accepts me where I am while also encouraging me to continually grow. As I go forth each new day I remind myself that I am His child and that because He is a wonderful parent I will always be within His sight, even if sometimes I forget He is there.

Throughout the day I try to check in with God and with myself so I am able to keep things in perspective and interact fairly and respectfully with others. During my interactions with others I try to remind myself that Jesus never judged people, instead he met them where they were. I think that Jesus puts joy and well being in each of our hearts which we are meant to share with others. For example, when I get into a disagreement with a family member I ask myself "Do I want to be right, or do I want to maintain a good relationship?" When someone cuts me off on the highway instead of speaking in anger, I say a prayer. When I do counseling I feel that I am bringing my clients closer to God, even when we don’t specifically talk about God. Encouraging health and wellness is a testimony of Jesus’ restoring powers.

I try to stay open to God’s will and I am amazed at all that He has led me to do. Even five years ago I would never have thought that I could be a mental health counselor. I didn’t even know if I could find the will to stay alive. I was severely depressed and anxious. I allowed myself to live in the darkness for several years when it finally occurred to me that God is a God of light and that he died on the cross and was raised again for me. As a Christian I had a spiritual calling to choose health and to get the help I needed to overcome the darkness. Learning to overcome the darkness was and at times continues to be hard work, but I remind myself frequently that God wants us to walk in light. Also to help me maintain mental health I had a Stephen Minister and I still listen to Christian music or read the Bible whenever I start feeling anxious or depressed. I also made, and continue to make, a point of changing how I think and speak to lessen pessimism. God is a God of creation and life. He wants us to speak life. He is the Great I Am, not an ‘I am not.’

Even when I feel in my heart that God has called me to do something, it doesn’t mean that it will be easy or fast. I have to continually assure myself that where he guides, he provides and remind myself to walk by faith and to go where Jesus leads me. Many times each day I have to remind myself that my blessings are not curses. As I do the things I am called to do, such as cleaning my house, choosing to control my anger, or doing counseling, I try to remember to lift up a prayer before and invite Jesus to come in and lead my work. Without him I could not do what I do.

I often fall short of the mark, but I feel strongly that God calls us to strive greatly with the understanding that we will fall short. The nice thing about working for God is that instead of feeling like I have to do it, I want to do it, and even if I don't quite succeed, I get up and try again.

Carla Javier arrived in town about a year ago, with her husband, Michael, to become the director of the Kids First Coalition, a program of Child Development Resources. Through her own experiences, she has gained an acute awareness of how God directs us into our ministries, through the twists and turns of our lives. Here are the notes for her comments:

• I am the co-director of a community project, Kids First Coalition. There are 32 partner agencies from the greater Williamsburg area
• It seems that all my past experience has brought me to this place.
• I was not one of those people who always knew what they wanted to do and then, went for it in a direct path.
• Discerning God’s call and understanding how my past experiences could be used occurred on more of a circular than a linear journey.
• As a kid, I was an idealist. I thought I would “change the world.”
• When I was 12 and they asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, I said I would be a lawyer for the American Indian Movement! Not the typical answer. And as it turned out, not exactly what God had in mind for me.
• Education, teaching, held no interest. Teaching was not for me. I just couldn’t see how you could “change the world” through teaching. (Of course, this meant that God would call me to a life as an educator. I just didn’t know it yet.)
• I was not raised in any church or with any specific religious teaching. But when I wound up by accident in a Lutheran College, I first heard that idea of a vocation or a “calling.” Lutheran theology appealed to me, with the focus on redemptive grace and the emphasis on the blessed community. So, I was confirmed there.
• And, I thought I’d become a Lutheran minister after the model of the wonderful campus pastor---after all, all of my friends were going on to seminary….
• Graduation with my highly marketable Sociology and English degrees and marrying the man of my dreams, moved me in a different direction.
• After about six years of trying things on – as a social worker, a group home mother, working with adults with disabilities – I found myself, again by accident, in a Master’s program for Early Childhood Special Education.
• This landed me in a clinic that served children under 3 who were developmentally delayed or disabled.
• Ultimately, I supervised the state program for children who had multiple disabilities including deaf-blindness.
• I received more from these kids and their families than I ever gave. I came to believe that this was the work God had called me to do.
• I saw miracles happen in this work beyond my own skills or understanding.
• I was fortunate to be able to make home visits to see parents and their children with a team including Speech Therapist and a Teacher of the Visually Impaired. Our purpose was to consult and develop a plan to unlock the world for tinfants and toddlers with multiple disabilities.
• Often, we would be driving to the home after reading a child’s chart and I would know that with all my education and training, I had no idea what to tell these parents.
• Often the parents had been given no hope for improvement with their child. They were told that their child could not learn.
• I would find myself praying that in some way, God would guide our team to have something to offer the families that would be helpful.
• And when we were humble enough to really get out of the way, God would answer that prayer.
• One particular child, Marquise, illustrates this process beautifully.
1. Marquise was born to a teen mom, severely abused and had been placed with his aunt.
2. He had cerebral palsy, and was blind and g-tube fed. The doctors had told the family that he would never be able to do anything.
3. When we first saw him, he was laying on a bed in a darkened room in his aunt’s house.
4. I was at a loss. He just lay there, unresponsive.
5. We tried everything in our bag of tricks with no response
6. Until finally, we were led to wait.
7. Just to wait, not to do anything.
8. We held a flashlight, very still for about three minutes.
9. Three long minutes.
10. And Marquise reached for the light!
We all cried and I knew that the spirit of God was working through us. It went against every instinct I had to just wait. But sometimes waiting on God is doing something.
Hope was born that day. Marquise could learn.
• These experiences prepared me for the work I find myself involved in now, directing a project that advocates for children like Marquise and for those who our are society’s throw away children. Those born to teen mom’s, placed in foster care, raised in poverty, children of abuse and violence and addiction.
• And here is where my journey comes full circle. For the story of the children I advocate for, is my story. I was born to a teen mom, placed in foster care, raised in poverty, victim of abuse and violence and addiction.
• It is clear to me now that each step on the journey was not an accident—in fact each decision or event moved me closer to where I am today and was, for me a gift of grace.
• Each step has been a response to the call of God.
• In answering this call, I believe that there is hope for all children. That all children can learn.
• That God does not desire any child to grow up with abuse, violence, hunger or pain.
• With Dag Hammarskjold, I can say, “I don’t know who or what put the question. I don’t know when it was put. I don’t even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer ‘Yes’ to Someone-or Something—and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore my life in self-surrender, had a goal. From that moment I have known what it means ‘not to look back.’”

Werner Bieber moved to Williamsburg not long ago, from Lynchburg, Virginia. He and his wife Mary live at Patriot’s Colony, which includes a health care center. Listen to Werner’s description of a ministry he has developed.

“Visits with Noah” is how we are listed on the activity calendar in the Convalescent Center at Patriots Colony. Several times a week we go to see the shut-ins, so after five months we have made many friends. I reside in Independent Living at Patriots Colony, and Noah is our 11 pound miniature long-haired dachshund. He is very gentle and likes people. (He is timid around larger dogs; he doesn’t know he is one!)

Our visits may be brief or extended. I approach new residents slowly, introduce ourselves, and ask if they would like to pet Noah. The response is usually positive; it is amazing how many are dog lovers and owned pets at some time or other, so we start a conversation that way. Next, I will ask if they would like to give Noah a treat, and I place a Cheerio in the palm of one hand. Noah very gingerly takes the tid-bit which makes the giver smile and pet him some more.

Each visit seems to produce a special happening. Mary, a stroke victim, who cannot talk and is bedridden, seemed unresponsive until I held her shaking hand and put a Cheerio in it. When Noah accepted the treat, there was a quiver of a smile and I cold tell by her eyes how pleased she was. Now there is always that welcome response. We greeted Elsa, who is a member here at St. Stephen, on her 96th birthday. We see Ken, another member, regularly.

Ruth a 101-year-old resident, is usually found in her wheelchair traversing the halls. I must stop each time I see her to go through the ritual – even if it is three or four times! I was cautioned that one fellow is of a nature where he might be abusive to Noah. After talking to him a few times, he progressed to the point where he now wants to pet Noah and offer the treat.

There are many other incidents which I could recount. We have seen as many as 30 persons during one visitation. Relatives have told me how much the visits are appreciated and have indicated when their family member would be receptive to a visit.

The staff makes certain they are not forgotten, and the chaplain ahs told me how worthwhile this program is. I feel more rewarded than any of the people I see. When I am seen without Noah, people will ask me where my “side-kick” is. They may not know me by name, but everyone knows Noah.

Has this been helpful, to hear some descriptions of the work God gives us to do? My hope is that the stories that you’ve heard from fellow worshipers help you identify how God calls you to vocation. We witness to the Good News of God’s grace through Jesus the Christ in the work we do for the Kingdom, in our every day lives.

To conclude, please pull out the bulletin insert entitled, “Affirmation of the Vocations of the Baptized.”

Dear Christian Friends: baptized into the priesthood of Christ, we are all called by the Holy Spirit to offer ourselves to the Lord of all creation in thanksgiving for all that God has done and continues to do for us.

Through Holy Baptism our heavenly Father set us free from sin and made us members of the priesthood we share in Christ Jesus. Through Word and Sacrament we have been nurtured in faith, that we may proclaim the praise of the Lord and bear God’s creative and redeeming word to all the world.

Brothers and sisters, both your work and your rest are in God. Will you endeavor to pattern your life on the Lord Jesus Christ, in gratitude to God and in service to one another, at morning and evening, at work and at play?

I will and I ask God to help me.

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Let us pray. Almighty God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you have knit these your servants into the one body of your Son, Jesus Christ. Look with favor upon them in their commitment to serve in Christ’s name. Give them courage, patience, and vision; and strengthen us all in our Christian vocation of witness to the world and of service to others; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Pastor Andy Ballentine
St. Stephen Lutheran Church
Williamsburg, Virginia