Some of us - whether or not we call ourselves religious - grew up in family and community cultures driven by a religious ‘work ethic’. Maybe we exhausted ourselves willy-nilly, out of a mistaken sense of duty. Maybe those efforts, exerted for our sense of a greater good, were a tonic. Today’s reflection looks at bible characters who might have something to say to us about both striving and letting go.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
Today’s two sacred stories, separated by hundreds of years but both part of the biblical canon, are about hard work.
First, we hear about the Jewish patriarch Jacob as he travels fearfully back towards his homeland and his brother, Esau. Esau is powerful and, last Jacob heard, wants him dead.
The most famous part of the tale is Jacob’s mysterious encounter with a man / God, with whom he wrestles all night in order to secure a blessing. But - the wrestling match is only part of Jacob’s labour. Before that, he is already hard at it planning and preparing for the encounter with the brother he betrayed. He is packaging elaborate gifts and choreographing a complex arrival strategy, designed to minimise the risk of bloodshed.
Jacob has his work cut out for him; he also, ultimately, has to approach his brother in fear. He cannot control everything.
How much of your effort, calculation and work are motivated by a desire to shape or know the future?
Perhaps part of this arises from (bad?) anxiety; and part of it from a sense of (good?) personal responsibility.
How can you tell when you over-reach? Or when you are giving up? What is the mysterious blessing you are wrestling for?
The breathtaking range and persistence of the demands made of Jesus during his lifetime are illustrated perfectly in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 9. It is exhausting to read, never mind experience, what Matthew lists as one ‘day-in-the-life’. Quite understandably, Jesus remarks to his friends that:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. ”
The story is a whirlwind of miraculous activity, in which Jesus is motivated by compassion for the downtrodden. There is also a sense of purpose; of his paying close attention; of his willingness to change his plans. Elsewhere in the gospels, we also see him prioritising rest, friendship and solitude.
We might remember, too, that the intensity described in the gospels was short-lived; the bible has nothing much to say about Jesus’ work before he reached 30. He was murdered at 33 - the ultimate and most difficult human act of ‘letting go’.
How do you feel about the way Jesus used his time and energy; about how he worked?
What part did duty play? Was he guided by his own needs and enthusiasms, regardless of others’ expectations?
What does this have to say to you, in your daily work?
Having control over our working pattern is a luxury. Many people are effectively - or in fact - slaves to the consumerist society most readers of this blog enjoy. Is there one thing you can do today to rebel against that? Here is a website listing ‘slave free’ companies.
And here is Gill Scott Heron’s great reminder for those of us writing and reading blogs that some of our work cannot be done online!