Labor Day Sunday is one of the least attended Sundays of the year across the nation. Now, do not worry, I am fully aware that those of you who attended worship on Labor Day Sunday did not choose to come just so that you could hear the pastor’s moaning and complaining in the echoes of a half empty church. I only raise up the issue because Labor Day has the potential to become the quintessential Lutheran Sunday. Forget for a moment that it is a completely secular day, and look at the holiday’s intent. It is a day in which laborers rest and the nation celebrates the importance and contributions of the laborer and their unions to American society.
This should strike two loud notes of recognition on the part of Lutheran Christians: first, it is a day of rest. Each week the Sabbath is a day for rest and experiencing God. Labor Day Sunday, therefore, should be the quintessential example of Sabbath. The churches should be packed with all of those laborers who are not at work, but resting. Second, it is a day that celebrates the contributions of the laborer. Where in all of theology, will you find a stronger respect for laborers than in Lutheran theology which recognizes that it is through our vacations that God uses us the most. Labor Day Sunday should be a huge Sunday, with people stringing out the door, trying to see in, and the church blessing each and every person for the gift of their labor and their positive impact on all of creation.
But, enough with the “shoulds,” it is not huge. It is usually small…very small. It is usually only a handful of people who either do not own a tent or people who could not make it back up off of the ground if they somehow found themselves within a tent. Every once and a while you might see the odd church professional who is not allowed to play hooky on this day.
I wonder how much of this is the church’s own fault. For years, the church has successfully made itself into a weekly obligation. It is the place where we “should” be on Sunday, but often would rather not. Deciding to go to church is like deciding on the evening meal after a long, rough day at work; do I take the time to fix a healthy well balanced meal, making sure to cut fresh fruits and vegetables, or do I just eat extreme Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream? Do I sit through another worship service or do I go to Dorney Park and get one more ride in on the coasters? There is a disconnect between church and our daily lives, and I think that it is the church’s own fault. Church hasn’t necessarily been relevant to our daily lives in the past, and Chruch has made itself into the place where you should be rather than the place where we get to be! When church is just something that we need to get through, like a root canal (just sit there until the pain is over), then that is a problem.
But, properly, the church should not be an obligation, rather it should be the place where we get to rest and get to experience God. It is the place where God touches our lives; where God enters into our life and makes sense of the rest of the week. In the same way, Bible studies should not be something that we ought to do but do not ever get around to doing. Rather, they are opportunities that we look forward to; where we experience God and everything in our week seems to now make sense, or at least be a little less confusing. If you told most people that you know of an opportunity for them to experience God in all of God’s greatness, and that they would have the chance to share in God’s wisdom…the wisdom that they have longed for and somehow found elusive, would they not pay good money to go overseas and experience that? Is that not the bread and butter of today’s book industry? The Sabbath is the day that makes sense of the rest of your life. I am not certain that I am even convinced by that statement, so I will say it again: the Sabbath is the day that makes sense of the rest of your life.
Paul tries to make this connect for his friend Philemon. Somehow, while in jail, Paul has made a friend in Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, and it is time for Onesimus to go back to his master Philemon. Normally, the slave would return to the master, and everyday operations between master and slave would go forward. There is one problem though, Onesimus is now a bother in Christ. Onesimus is no longer just a slave to Philemon. What does that mean, to be both a slave and a brother? How should Onesimus be treated from now on?
In raising the issue and rasing the questions, Paul urges Onesimus to connect his daily life of business and his life of faith in Jesus Christ. Somehow, Philemon needs to reconcile the fact that Onesimus is both a slave and a brother. Philemon must consider which is more important, his economic reality or God’s reality? Do his finances outweigh his faith or the other way around? Which is more important, the “real world” or the Kingdom of God?
I will not offer the answers to Philemon's economic and interpersonal quandry. But, I will invite you to venture into the same questions in your own life. How do you connect the Sabbath with your daily life?
For Jesus there was no disconnect between the Sabbath and his daily life. Everywhere he went, in everything that he did, Jesus lived as he were living in the kingdom of God. For Jesus the real world was the Kingdom of God. What we refer to as the “real world” is actually not real. It is a fantasy. It is a human construction. It is a reality shaped by the opinions and desires of the created, rather than being shaped by the opinions and desires of the creator. When one lives a life shaped by the opinions and desires of the creator, they have stepped into the reality of the kingdom of God.
The only problem with living in God’s kingdom, it does not conform to the rules of the “real” world, where money is the primary god. It may not make economic sense. It may mean you lose a slave. It may mean that you lose your Father, or your Mother, or your sister, etc. It may mean that you lose your life on a cross. But, do not be fooled, God’s kingdom is the real world.
How do I treat grumpy people in the kingdom of God?
How are slaves or employees to be treated in the kingdom of God?
How is your own labor important in God’s kingdom?
Again, I will not provide answers. However, I will assumre you that your labor can be essential to God's kingdom. Being a mother, volunteer, manager, independent business owner, mailroom clerk, etc. can be essential in God’s kingdom. What does your own labor look like if it is not just a job, but an essential in God's kingdom?
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