Close to the End

Seeing human labor as a way to please God

09/02/2024

LK 4:16-30 Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

A keynote speaker at a religious convention came to the podium. He shuffled his notes for a moment, scanned the audience, and said thoughtfully, “Where to begin? Where to begin?” A voice in the crowd yelled, “As close to the end as possible!” A know a few parishioners who would like to yell that when I get in the pulpit and start one of my dreaded homily series.

In the gospel today Jesus returns to his home town of Nazareth and delivers a sermon “as close to the end as possible” because it consists of only one sentence. He reads from the scroll of Isaiah chapter 61, and then states solemnly: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” Now, the gist of Jesus’ meaning might escape us, but not the first century people of Nazareth who heard him. Why not?

Well, Jesus was appropriating to himself the title of the long-awaited Messiah, and he couldn’t have done it with any clearer ascription than by saying he was fulfilling Isaiah 61. That is, Jesus’ sermon was “as close to the end as possible” because he was announcing the end of waiting for the Messiah. But Jesus also knew his brief homily would cause consternation and confrontation and even echo the end of his mission as the Messiah. How so?

Well, the people are offended with his way of being the Messiah and try to kill him by attempting to throw him over the brow of the hill to execute him. In that sense, Jesus’ homily was also “as close to the end as possible” because from the first day of his ministry he had a premonition of the last day of his ministry, his death on the cross.

Today is Labor Day in the United States and I feel that Jesus’ short sermon can give us some insights on how we should approach our jobs and careers, our human labor. That is, most of us get jobs because we hope to make a lot of money and retire as early as possible. Our first day on the job we are thinking about our last day on the job, and how to get there as fast as possible. As Loverboy sang, “Everybody’s working for the weekend.”

However, that approach sees work as only a necessary evil which we wish we could live without. But a better approach would be seeing work as a necessary good for our own growth in holiness. In other words, just like Jesus’ ministry as the Messiah – the work the Father had assigned to Jesus – was how Jesus fulfilled the Father’s will, and grew in wisdom, age and grace, so our work is one important way we fulfill God’s will for our lives.

That is, the main reason we get up and go to work is not principally to make a lot of money, to please our boss, or retire early, but so that we can please God. We work for God more than we work for ourselves. I went to dinner last night with Jordan and Will Smith, and Jordan articulated this notion of working for God beautifully.

She had invited her parents and her siblings for supper. After dinner we sat around talking about what Jordan was doing for work, and how she helps non-profit organizations to raise funds. But she made this sharp comment, looking at her parents, “Mom and dad, you worked at jobs you did not necessarily like so we children could get jobs we find more fulfilling.” I think most parents do that.

In other words, instead of merely “working for the weekend” because our job feels like a necessary evil; we should approach work as a “necessary good” which we offer to God to please him and in some small way contribute to the building up of the Kingdom of God, like Jordan was doing.

And we can really work this way no matter what title we have on our company name badge: doctor, lawyer or Indian Chief, as my high school history teacher used to say. All honest human labor can be done to please God and not others or even ourselves. And if we work this way – to please God first and foremost – we, too, can begin “as close to the end as possible.” How so?

Because even at work we will already be doing on earth what the angels are doing for eternity in heaven, namely, pleasing God, or doing the Father’s will. My friends, whether we are clocking in for our first day, or clocking out on our last day, we should begin with the end in mind, as close to the end as possible, namely, to please God.

Praised be Jesus Christ!