creation 2

Then the Lord God formed a mud-being from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being..The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Genesis 2:7 and 15

We have just passed Labor Day weekend.  While it is often seen as the bookend to summer which started with Memorial Day weekend, to celebrate the work of our heads, hearts, and hands in this world is perhaps sometime more.  From the very beginning God calls the mud-being to work.  Please notice that "Adam" in Genesis 2 is less a formal name and more a generic description.  Adam means of red earth and it sounds very similar to the Hebrew word for "Ground".  To call this being God fashioned and formed into being Adam is stating the obvious...the being was "of dirt and mud" and more importantly...love.

Work today has a complicated place in our lives.  Many of us, myself included, define who we are by what we get paid to do.  Many today, myself included, want to be known for MORE than just our job.  Many Baby Boomers, approximately 10,000, retire each day still full of energy and dreams for the next stage/chapter want to offer their insights, ideas, and lives in meaningful ways.  It is no coincidence that Rick Warren's A Purpose Driven Life sold millions of copies.  People want purpose and meaning.  I don't know if Adam found meaning in tilling the ground.  Perhaps with the dust he stirred up, he was reminded of want he was made of.  There is something satisfying about weeding and trimming and taking care of creation.  Each week when I mow, I look over the grass going from unkempt to neat/tidy and feel good.  I weed the flower beds, filling bags, and look at the ways the flowers now seem taller and stand out more.  Work can be holy.

In fact, in the Protestant Reformation, Luther was passionate about vocation.  Now, in English, we conflate and inter-change vocation with work.  And that is true on one level.  But there is also a difference.  Vocation has the same root as "voice".  Finding your voice, where you can sing in harmony with all that is around you, is where your holy calling is.  The trouble is that so often we think there is only ONE way to do that...maybe it is not one way...but many over the course of life.  What might be my vocation, my fullest voice, in one season may fall flat in another.  I think this is especially true for people as they age.  Vocation may not be what we are paid for and it may change over time and it is sometimes found in the roles we take on.  I have vocation not only as a pastor, but as a husband, father, friend, and son.  I have vocation as a brother and fellow believer in Christ.  I have a vocation as one created in the image of God and one who has divine DNA.  Vocation is expansive and dynamic and rarely fits neatly in any one box.

As we move away from Labor Day (and start getting ready for Halloween...which might also say something about vocation as we "dress up" and that Halloween ranks second in consumer spending), I invite you to think about vocation.  Have you ever had a moment when you thought, "I was made for this?"  Have you ever had a moment when the tiny hairs on your arms stood on end because of something you were a part of (like raising money for cancer research OR painting a picture)?  Focus on vocation, moments you have felt fully alive...even if you don't feel that way right now.  As you do, can we pray that our still-creating and singing God might move in our lives in meaningful ways awaken a song within our hearts and moments of sharing our vocation/voice with others.  

May the traces of God's grace guide you this week

Blessings ~