Laborers for God
James 1:17-27; Luke 10:1-9
Where did all the people go?
Last
week we were filled to overflowing and today
We
are a somewhat smaller group.
The
answer is “Labor Day”-
They’ve
gone to celebrate Labor Day.
But
what does Labor Day celebrate.
It’s not a Christian Holiday- nor is it a Patriotic
It
is an economic holiday to celebrate the nation’s workers
Now
there is a lot of dispute
about who
originated labor day in the late 1800’s
Some
say that the holiday started with Peter McGuire,
The
General Secretary of Carpenters and Joiners.
Others
say it started with Matthew Majure,
Secretary of
Machinist’s Union 344
Still
others claim that it started with Uriah Stephens,
Garment
cutter with Knights of Labor in America
And yet
others claim that it started as Grover
Attempt
to appease the
The truth is that no one knows for sure
who started the holiday.
It
became a national holiday in 1909 in all states except
But
what is known is that on this day
We
celebrate the workers in
By
taking a day off.
We
think of
the
nation’s strength, and freedom
and
leadership in the world.
And that’s good.
Our Gospel Lesson also celebrates laborers,
Not
only American laborers but all Laborers for God.
The
word for Labor is ergon
and the word
for laborer is ergates .
And in
Luke we celebrate labors for God not by giving
Them
a day off,
God commands
everyone to take a day off
On each Sabbath, every week.
Rather
the story in Luke is to celebrate laborers
By
calling them to God’s work.
“The harvest is plentiful but the laborers
are few;
therefore ask the
Lord of the harvest to send out
laborers into his
harvest.” (Luke 10:2)
And what is the labor God calls us to
On
this day in which were supposed to be resting
From
the labor that the world calls us to.
It
is sharing the peace of Christ.
It
doesn’t require a heavy backpack,
Or
a complicated power point presentation,
Or
a getting approved on some piece
Of
heavy equipment or technology
It
is simply sharing the peace of Christ.
How do we share the peace of Christ?
Luke
says it involves visiting people in their homes,
Eating
and drinking with them,
Curing
the sick by praying for or visiting with them
And
offering the good news:
“The
In other words, laborers for God are
like the laborers
We
celebrate in
We
believe that American laborers build up
American
strength, freedom and
Leadership
in the world.
Laborers for God are building up God’s
kingdom.
The
Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God
and the Fellowship
of the Holy Spirit.
What a joy it must have been for the Seventy
Who heard this call.
In the Old
Testament labor was seen as a curse of
Man’s disobedience to God with Adam
and Eve
and now in Christ,
our labor is to glorify God.
We
are like children who desperately want to please our parents
I
just read Arnie Palmers Autobiography and he talks
About
how important it was for his dad, Paps,
To
approve of his work as a golf pro.
Now
that doesn’t seem like real work to most of us
Who
play golf as sport and fun but it was important
To
Arnie Palmer to have his dad’s approval
To
do the thing he loved and was very
Gifted
to do.
We have the heavenly Father’s approval
and even his calling
To
labor in his harvest,
To
offer his peace,
To
share his hospitality,
To
pray for his healing touch,
And
to proclaim his kingdom.
The
only question for us is “Will we do it?”
If we are on the fence then God offers
us not only a word in Luke
But
an emphatic word in the Letter of James.
James
was the brother of Jesus
and leader
of the
He was
trying hard to work out the relationship between
Good works the works called forth by
the Torah and
The faith of Christ that
bears fruit.
If we are unsure of the role of works in
our faith life
He
offers the famous phrase: “But be doers
of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”
And the work he calls us to:
“Care for orphans and widows in distress
and keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Now I will
tell you that the writings of James
Were distressing to Paul.
I’m reading
a Walter Wannegrin book right now
Called simply “Paul” in which Wannegrin
Uses scripture to imagine the
relationships
And interaction
between the giants
Of the
faith in the first century.
In his book
Paul is deeply distressed by the confusion
That James statement might cause.
Are we capable of being
completely pure
In this world by
our own efforts?
Can we earn our salvation by
our good works
Caring for orphans and
widows?
Paul says
emphatically “NO! It’s only by the grace
of God
That we even do good works at all
and by God’s grace and the sacrifice of
Christ,
that we are
made pure and holy before God.
Now I think James knows that as well.
After
all he said earlier in his letter:
Every generous act of giving, with every
perfect gift,
Is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights.”
Here
James is acknowledging that every good work
Is
God’s work in Jesus Christ.
Another
clue to the depth of James understanding is
The
word he uses for work is different from Luke.
Remember Luke used the work ergon, which means “work”
But
James uses the word, Poeatea.
It literally
means “to create, make, do, or act”.
If James was suggesting that humans could
do this on their own
it would be
blasphemous even from a Jewish perspective.
Only God can create.
However, James is saying that as humans
created and called by God
We
can reflect the creative activity of God
In
our own lives in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
James
is saying “create something with your faith”
Act
out your faith in some new and different way.
Be
productive with the dynamic and
Active
faith God has given you.
On this labor day as we celebrate the
creative and productive work
of the
American worker and the effect on our nation,
we are challenged by Luke and James,
to be creative and productive
in our faith as well,
because this work
not only builds up our nation
but the
whole world God created.
Luke and
James say that our best labor is our work and creativity
That we offer to God and that all our
other work
Grows out of and reflects the
work
we offer God
in Christ. Amen