Take This Job and Love It

Jesu Juva
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
November 17, 2019
Proper 28C

Dear Saints of Our Savior~

The end is near. These final Sundays of the church year serve to remind us that this world, in its present form, is passing away. Today the Prophet Malachi warns us that the Last Day will burn “like an oven.” Jesus warns that earthquakes, famines and false Christs will increase as the Day draws near. “Heaven and earth will pass away,” He says, “but my words will not pass away.”

What would you do if you knew? Now, no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return. But for the sake of argument: If you knew the world would end tomorrow, what would you do today? How would your plans change? Where would you go? What would you do? And who would you do it with? Legend has it that when a similar question was posed to Martin Luther, he had a rather simple response. If the world was ending tomorrow, Luther said that he would plant a tree today.

What I especially like about Luther’s answer is that it involves working. Work is worthwhile and God-pleasing—even when the end is near. Planting a tree means getting up, going out, digging down, and getting your hands dirty.

The value of work—the spiritual significance of work—goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden with the intent that they were “to work it and keep it” (Gen. 2:15). There was work to be done, even in paradise. We so often think that our work-a-day existence is a result of living in a sin-filled, God-forsaking world, but no! God gave work to our first parents even before the fall into sin. This means that work is intrinsically good and God-pleasing.

It’s not hard to imagine what this work in paradise might have looked like. There were likely fruits and vegetables to be harvested. Maybe there were cows that needed milking and cheese that needed making. And that beer wasn’t going to brew itself. (My version of paradise sounds a lot like Wisconsin.) But even in a perfect world there was work to be done.

But you and I live in a fallen world. And that fact makes our work much more difficult and far less rewarding. “Cursed is the ground because of you,” the Lord told Adam, “thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.” This is why work never works out the way you want it to. Screws get stripped. Batteries give out. Muscles get pulled. The tree you plant today can be taken down by the wind tomorrow. But none of this changes the fact that work is a good gift from God—that God has given all of us work to do.

Like us, the Christians at Thessalonica had been called by the Holy Spirit to trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ for their rescue and deliverance from this dying world. But some of them apparently thought that faith in Jesus was a good excuse to take early retirement and check out of working all together. They decided it was okay to take a permanent vacation from their God-given vocations. Their motto was, “Take this job and shove it!”

We don’t know whether these idle brothers were simply lazy deadbeats who were merely milking the charity of wealthy, well-to-do believers, OR whether they were so devout and so eagerly anticipating the return of Christ that they quit their jobs like lottery winners and engaged in a life of leisurely prayer as they awaited the coming of the Son of Man. But whatever their motivation, Paul makes it clear that their work-free lifestyle was contrary to the word and will of God. God is a working God; and God wills that His people work too. Paul was a tentmaker. Peter was a fisherman. Luke was a physician. The rule was this: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat. Get to work! Stop being busybodies and get busy!” Paul wrote.

Now it needs to be pointed out that there are times when people want to work, but can’t. Many of us know what it’s like to be unemployed or underemployed. You want to work; you want a job; but nothing comes your way. Others cannot work because of mental or physical disabilities or illness. Others of us know what it’s like to have your back go out. It’s nearly impossible to work when you don’t have a working back—when you have to rely on the kindness of others to simply tie your shoes. Paul is not addressing these situations in today’s epistle. There is no condemnation for those who want to work, but can’t. Regarding these brothers and sisters, Paul would remind us to bear one another’s burdens, and care for those who cannot care for themselves. “Whatever you do for the least of these,” Jesus says, “You have done it unto me.”

I can probably summarize the sermon up to this point in two sentences: Work is good. And work is hard. It’s difficult. We rarely get it right. When it comes to our God-given work and vocations, the temptations are always there to say, “That’s not my job. Let someone else do it.” The temptations are always there to cheat, to cut corners, to be lazy, to get complacent, to do as little as possible. And even when your attitude is good—when you know that your work matters—there’s the constant battle against discouragement and despair, when your work feels meaningless, when it seems that you’re just spinning your wheels. And the flip side of that is when work takes over everything else—when your work and career become the most important thing in your life—when you become a workaholic and neglect the people—the people God has given you to love and serve.

The problem concerning work at Thessalonica was primarily a congregational problem. It was a problem in the church. We know that because Paul warns them about any “brother” who is idle—brother being a word to denote a fellow believer. Apparently, there were plenty of “busybodies” in that congregation, people who were “busy” with gossip and meddling in other people’s business. I don’t think that “busybodies” are much of a problem among us at Our Savior. But I do think that God’s Word today should lead each and every one of us to ask: As a baptized child of God and a member of this congregation, am I doing everything I can—am I working with the energy and wisdom God supplies—to strengthen our life together, to build one another up, to never grow weary of doing good for these, my brothers and sisters in Christ?

Work is good. Work is hard. But your work has eternal value in Jesus. No one has ever worked harder, or more faithfully, than Jesus. No one has ever labored as lovingly as the Lord Jesus. Jesus was there at creation and all things were created by Him. But when sinful rebels needed redeeming—when a fallen world needed to be re-created—Jesus willingly took that job and loved it. He did not cheat. He did not cut corners. He came into this world and worked. He labored against all the frustrations that you and I face every day, amidst blood, sweat, and tears. For busy, hard-working sinners, and for idle, complacent sinners, Jesus took on the dirty job that no one else could do. He became the servant and slave of all. He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.

Jesus quite literally worked Himself to death to save you. He labored and toiled beneath the weight of all our sins. He worked and worked until they nailed Him to the cross. There’s an old saying: Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. Lazy, labor-free hands are a prime opportunity for the devil to start giving directions. But if idle hands are the devil’s workshop, then the nail-scarred hands of Jesus spell the devil’s demise. For those hands are the hands that bless and forgive you. Those hands are the hands that will embrace you in love when you depart this life in peace, and finally find rest from all your labor.

Work is good. Work is hard. But the work you do today has eternal significance and value in Jesus. He magnifies your work and honors it. For Jesus Himself says that whatever you do for the least and the lowly, you are doing it unto Him. Ultimately, all of your work, all of your labor and toil on behalf of others, Jesus receives it all just as if you did it for Him. This means that your labor in the Lord is never in vain. The work of your vocations is wonderful work. God Himself uses it for the life of the world.

Our God is a working God, and our God is working hard yet today—equipping you for your work—forgiving your sins, increasing your faith, feeding you with the body and blood of His Son. He who began a good work in you in baptism is still working—and He will surely bring it all to completion on the Last Day—the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.