20170501 WORKING FOR THE LORD

WORKING FOR THE LORD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ COL 3:14-15,17,23-24; PS 89:2-4,12-14,16; MT 13:54-58 ]

Today, we celebrate the Feast of St Joseph the worker.  All are called to be collaborators in the vineyard of the Lord.  It does not matter whether we are priests working in the Church, or full time workers, or even volunteers helping in Church organizations or involved in humanitarian services.  The problem for many people helping in the Church or in charitable organizations is that we often do not have the right disposition or attitudes in the way we commit ourselves.  That is why we need to reflect on today’s scripture readings and see what we can learn from St Joseph.

Firstly, St Joseph was clear that in whatever he did, he was serving God and not man. St Paul reminds us, “Whatever your work is, put your heart into it as if it were for the Lord and not for men, knowing that the Lord will repay you by making you his heirs. It is Christ the Lord that you are serving.”   Our primary attitude in service, regardless who we are and wherever we serve, is to remember that it is God who is our boss.  We do not even serve the priest or even the bishop in the church.  Our allegiance is not to a particular priest or a particular person, just as St Paul reprimanded his people for the divisions they were causing because some said they were for Paul and others for Apollos.  So St Paul said, “For when one says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ and another, ‘I belong to Apollos,’ are you not merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.”  (1 Cor 3:4f)

Only when we are aware of this principle of serving God, can we then take instructions from legitimate authority appointed by Christ for His Church.  Following this principle, we then obey and collaborate with those appointed by the Lord to lead us, whether at home, in church or in the office.  That is why St Paul also told the slaves to obey their earthly masters “in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.”  (Col 3:22)  At the end of the day, we must be conscious that we are accountable to God, for He is the ultimate person that we serve.  Our service to God is rendered through the service of man appointed to lead us.

Flowing from this principle, it means that regardless whether we are full-time or part-time workers or volunteers, our commitment to our vocation or responsibility cannot be lesser, since it is God we are serving.  Often, in the church, volunteers think that they do not need to be accountable for what they do because what they do is voluntary work.  They come and go as they like; and do what they want.  If that were the case, can priests and religious just walk in and out as we like, or give up our priesthood too when faced with trials and difficulties, since we are also volunteers?  Of course not!  Again, this is because it is the Lord we serve.  And we must always give our best to the Lord for He deserves all our devotion and fidelity and collaboration. There is no excuse for slipshod work.

Secondly, vocation is a gift.  It is a calling.  We cannot demand to be a priest or even be appointed to any position in life.  It is God’s free choice to determine our vocation in life and what we are called to do.  We do not merit our position, for what we are, who we are, all our talents and resources come from God alone.  Indeed, this was what the townsfolks of Jesus did not understand.  We read that “Coming to his home town, Jesus taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the carpenter’s son, surely? Is not his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? His sisters, too, are they not all here with us? So where did the man get it all?’”  The answer is clear; Jesus is the appointed messiah of God, the Chosen and anointed one of God!  So there is nothing for anyone of us to claim glory and honor because it is all the work of God and purely His grace.

Instead, we are called to be thankful to our vocation.  Again this is what St Paul urges us.  “Always be thankful. Never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”  Gratitude is most important in any vocation we are in, whether it is a married vocation, a profession or priestly and religious life.  When we give thanks, it means we are appreciative and we value what we are doing and the responsibility given to us.  The sign of gratitude is always zeal, commitment and sacrifice.  When we are grateful for what has been given to us, we give ourselves generously out of gratitude for the gifts that we have received.  Those who have no sense of gratitude often abuse their position and their privileges.  Instead of using their gifts for the service of God and His people, we use them for ourselves.  

Gratitude for our vocation is expressed in fidelity.  From St Joseph, we must learn that commitment is to seek the will of God and to do it.   St Joseph had his own plans with regard to his marriage with Mary.  But when God chose Mary, his plans were totally derailed.  Instead of insisting on his own ways, he was totally available to the Lord’s will for Him. Instead of sending Mary away, he cooperated with God’s divine plan by being the spouse of Mary and the foster father of Jesus.  Such was the generosity and docility of St Joseph to the will of God for him in his life.   He was obedient to the Lord’s command as Mary was.   In whatever we do in life, we too must always, at every moment, seek the will of God, for in His will is our peace.

How do we know that we are doing God’s work and His will?  What are the fruits of the Spirit?  St Paul gives us these basic criteria.  Firstly, he said, “Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love.”  All that we do at the end of the day must be for the service of love.  Whatever we do must be done for the sake of love and out of love.  St Paul said, even “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1 Cor 13:3)  The second criterion is this: that in whatever we do, we foster unity and love in the Body of Christ because we are parts of this one body. “It is for this that you were called together as parts of one body.”  The promotion of unity among those whom we are serving is the sign that we are walking in the Spirit of Christ because the Holy Spirit brings unity and oneness.

If we fulfill our responsibilities and have the right attitude towards our work, then the end result is peace!  Again, St Paul said, “May the peace of Christ reign in your hearts.”  Indeed, when our conscience is at peace with God, then we will have peace in our hearts, the peace that the world does not know.  This peace comes from a certitude that we have done what we should before God and His people.  This peace comes about because we are accountable to God. Having said this, St Paul also reminds us not to be over presumptuous.  He said, “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.”  (1 Cor 4:4)

Finally, the psalmist warns us not to take for granted the privilege that God has given to us.   If we do not do all we can now, later on we will regret and it will be too late.  The psalmist reminds us of the shortness of our life.  “You turn men back to dust and say: ‘Go back, sons of men.’ To your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday, come and gone, no more than a watch in the night. Make us know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart. Lord, relent! Is your anger forever? Show pity to your servant!”  So, whilst we have the time and the energy, let us give our full devotion to what the Lord has appointed us to do.  A time will come when we are sickly and when we no longer hold office, and then we will not be able to do even if we want to.

Nevertheless, let us not be too worried about success either.  Success is the work of God and not ours!  So we do not rely on ourselves, our strength and our ingenuity.  The psalmist invites us to pray to the Lord for success.  After we have done all we could, let us commend our work to the Lord.  “Give success to the work of our hands, O Lord.  Before the mountains were born or the earth or the world brought forth, you are God, without beginning or end.  In the morning, fill us with your love; we shall exult and rejoice all our days. Show forth your work to your servants; let your glory shine on their children.”  As St Teresa of Calcutta told us, God is pleased with us so long as we are faithful to our calling, for we are not called to be successful but faithful like St Joseph in doing the will of God and cooperating with His Divine plan for humanity.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved