10/2/55

Scripture: John 5: 30-39

Text: John 5: 36; ... “the .. works that I do bear witness of me.”

Christian fellowship is expressed in a variety of ways. It is found among those who belong to the church of Christ. It is discovered among those who engage the problems of community life in Christian spirit. It is expressed in Christian service -- indeed it grows in Christian service. Perhaps the fellowship of Christian folk is particularly known in the sacrament of communion. And it is real in the lives of millions of folk who, on this day of world-wide communion, receive the elements of Christ’s sacrifice, each according to the rites and traditions of his own church, but all in the knowledge that countless others are gathering at the Lord’s Table on the same day.

Here we come for meditation on many things -- the privileges of the Christian calling and the obligations of the same -- we are aware of the blessings we have received; of the needs we have; of our own unworthiness in God’s perfect sight, and of His mercy toward us. There are those who assume that one must be truly worthy, in his heart, to approach the Table of the Lord. And yet, if we all waited until we were truly and perfectly worthy, we should, none of us, ever get to the table.

A Scottish minister, watching quietly as the elders of the church moved among the people of that congregation, serving the worshippers with the bread that symbolizes the giving of Christ’s body for us all, noticed that one woman, near the aisle, refused the plate and passed it by. At the same time she was weeping freely. Rising from his place near the table, the Scottish pastor walked down the aisle, took the plate from the elder, and held it firmly in front of the weeping woman. “Here,” he said to her, “Take it, woman. It’s for sinners.”

Probably that is as good a reason as any for us to take it. All of us have fallen short of the goals which our Creator has set for us. All of us stand in need of Heaven’s help and mercy. Each of us comes with his own confession of sin and of need. But we receive these elements of communion in the remembrance that Christ died for our salvation, and we are thankful.

We hold other things in remembrance, as well. Today, I suggest that we meditate a bit upon the offering of our labor at this time, and all times.

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In every communion service we remind ourselves that Jesus took bread and blessed it. Clarence Craig reminds us that a divine blessing upon bread must include blessing upon all the labor that has been spent upon that bread, between the time of preparing the field for the sowing of wheat, until the browned loaf appears at table. The significance of such an act becomes plainer when contrasted with the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. When it was possible to gain sustenance by plucking fruit and nuts from already-growing trees, human foresight and effort were unknown. The ancient Hebrew writer regarded it as a golden time. And he regarded labor as a curse, heaped upon man by an offended deity who, after man’s disobedience, had said: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.” [Genesis 3: 19].

It is perfectly true that we enjoy bread only because some have toiled. Some baker toiled through the night to have the bread into and out of the oven, fresh at the right time. Or a mother mixed and kneaded it, and fashioned the loaves that finally came to the table. There were others who prepared and tilled the soil, harvested and gathered the grain into bins and barns, ground it, transported it, baked it, distributed it. Still others manufactured the implements used all along that process.

The fact that you or I can step to the telephone, and have delivered to our door a finished loaf in a sealed package, should not permit us to forget that here is a symbol of the fact that life rests on human toil. Wheat is a gift of God in the growth of life. But it is by the sweat of mankind’s effort that it is laid upon our tables.

But does a curse rest upon the labor? Often it does. A curse rests upon labor if one purposes to live without work. I do not refer to the very young, who look forward to their most productive years, nor to those old enough to look back upon those times. But if any in the vigor of their middle life presume to live in affluence and ease, without putting forth any effort in behalf of the needs of mankind that can be supplied only by work, then their example is a misfortune branded by the curse that they live upon the toil of others.

So long as thousands are unemployed, or exploited, none can accept the aristocracy of idleness without helping to poison the minds of youth with the notion that (1) you can get money without effort; and that (2) labor is a curse to be avoided rather than a necessity to be joyfully accepted. Work may be a curse when its drudgery is excessive. [The long lines of men and women, human carriers of coal, in oriental ports; vs. giant mechanical loaders.] Also the monotony of “repeating” machines may be a greater curse than creative hand labor, such as a shoemaker. But the “curse” of labor is considerably removed when the worker at bench or desk; in factory or office; in store or day room -- receives adequately of the fruits of his labor -- and when conditions of his work are made as favorable as possible for the welfare of all concerned.

The religion which looks to a Nazarene carpenter as its leader is pledged to recover a blessing upon work. To have a job of work is a blessing, eagerly sought by many who have it not. Much of the “curse of work” is removed by the spirit of the worker himself -- pride of skill, craftsmanship. I know insurance men who take pride in their work, and doctors who take pride in “beautiful” scars following successful surgery.

[Ethics of workmanship] [Famous surgeon, wrongly supposed to be an atheist, said: “If you want to know what my religion is, come and see me operate.”]

Good work, well done, serves man and honors God. Jesus said: “The works that I do bear witness of me.” [John 10: 25]. The work we do is not borne down by any curse when we see in it the greatest opportunity to show the sincerity and nobility of living --- to reveal our faithfulness and accuracy. It is true that: “We may earn our living by the quantity of work done; we save our souls by the quality of our work.”

[In the ancient Hebrew religion, the first fruits were brought as an offering to God.]

When early Christians worshipped in the breaking of bread, they first offered the bread and the wine, for which they had labored, as a sacrifice unto God. Can we not do likewise, by offering to God the fruit of our labors -- in quality and in substance as well?

As we invoke a blessing upon this bread, we invoke a blessing upon all whose blood and sweat and sacrifice and service have brought it here. As we lift bread to our lips, let it be a symbol of the whole social order that waits for the acts of the Christian community to lift it up to God.

Sacraments are not alone for the sanctuary. They are to sanctify ongoing life -- else they remain a sterile thing apart. Let this sacrament help to redeem any curse from our labor, or the labor of those about us, tomorrow and each day thereafter.

After Jesus had blessed the bread, he uttered the words: “This is my body.” [Mark 14: 22]. He is present in the world’s work. The offering of the fruit of one’s labor carries with it the offering of himself.

Christ lives in the hearts of those who toil sincerely. For the Lord of life has come down to be with us in our work.

Amen.

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, October 2, 1955.

Also in Wisconsin Rapids, October 4, 1959.