O
Lord Jesus Christ, Only-begotten Son of Thy Eternal
Father, Thou hast said with Thy most holy lips: "Without
me you can do nothing." My Lord and my God, in faith I
embrace Thy words with my heart and soul, and bow before
Thy goodness; help me, a sinner, to do in union with
Thee this work which I am about to begin, in the Name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
- a
Prayer at the Beginning of Any Work
On Sunday 1/14 September, we will celebrate the
Church New Year. The New Year is a grace-filled time to
re-dedicate ourselves to working for Christ and for the
Church, as well as to consecrate all of our work to
God's glory.
In the midst of all the present social and economic
troubles, people feel pressured and anxious in a way never
before experienced. This presents a temptation to rush
about in frenzied anxiety, trying harder and harder to make
money and, in one's spare time, to have worldly experiences
of entertainment for oneself and one's family.
In this model of life, then, work is only for making money,
and leisure time is entirely for entertainment. Yet no one
feels he has enough money, and no one feels sufficiently
entertained. Perhaps the model leaves something to be
desired.
In the true Christian view of life, revealed by God in the
Holy Scriptures and the lives of the saints, the hours of
our day are meant for prayer, work, and rest. I have
written often about prayer; in this message, I would like to
talk about work.
Even in Paradise before the Fall, God gave man work: "And
the LORD God took the man, and put him
into the
garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." (Gen. 2:
15) So work, productive activity, is inherent in our
nature, and when people do not have work, they become
unhappy and go bad. We have all seen this. In addition,
after the Fall, God gave man an additional reason to
work, in order to make repentance for his sin: "In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return
unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Gen. 3:19).
So, if our work is difficult and unpleasant, which we all
experience at least sometimes, this is allowed by God in
His great wisdom, so that we can be cleansed of our
sins.
Before we start our work each day, it would greatly benefit
us to say the prayer I have re-printed above, or one similar
to it. It would greatly benefit us to recall each day that
we should 1. Dedicate our work to God, for His glory,
because our primary function is to glorify Him for His own
sake, 2. Ask the Lord to use whatever difficulties we
experience at work to cleanse us of our sins, and 3. To
acknowledge that we deserve to eat our bread in "the sweat
of our brow," and to ask Him to provide bread - that is, the
material things we truly need, not simply want out of
unruly desire - for our families through our work.
In addition, we should promise God that during this coming
year, we will work for His Holy Church. The Church is
our spiritual home, and we need to dedicate x hours to Her
every week, both in worship and in labor. When our pastor
or other parish leaders ask our help, let us re-order our
priorities and give that help. God will most certainly
reward us.
May the All-Providing Lord bless all our work this year, for
His glory!
Spiritual Life is Work, Too
We should use all that is necessary in this world for the
cultivation of our souls, for when death separates us from
this world we will take nothing to the other world except
our souls, in whatever state they have been formed here.
When he was eighteen, St. Simeon the Stylite was so
concerned about the salvation of his soul that one day he
fell face down on the earth and prayed to God that He would
show him the path of salvation. And lying thus in prayer for
a long time, he had a vision that he was digging a trench
for a foundation and, exhausted from digging, stopped to
catch his breath. A voice spoke to him, saying: "Dig
deeper!'' Then he began, with greater labor and effort, to
dig yet deeper. Again he stopped to catch his breath. But
again he heard the voice: "Dig deeper!'' He again began to
dig, with even greater labor and effort. At this the voice
spoke to him again: "Stop, it is sufficient! Now build what
you wish to build; for without labor, you will succeed in
nothing.''
Those who labor little, and build the life of their soul on
sensual shallowness, build on sand, which cannot uphold
anything, even in this transitory world - and even more so
in eternity.
- from
The Prologue from Ochrid, September 1st