Our Work // M-Note 1.29.2021

Gathering,

Writer Annie Dillard once said, “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” Considering that the average person spends a third of their adult life at work - some 90,000 hours - your job can in large part define your life. That is why work is such a source of stress, discernment, and struggle. Loving what you do, or finding deep meaning in your work, can feel like an elusive goal. Sometimes it feels as if we ought to just settle for something, anything, that provides stability and pays the bills. On the other hand, all of us have an innate desire to spend our days doing something that feels worthwhile. This past year has been a disorienting one for many when it comes to work. A lot of people have lost jobs, and now must frantically search for a new one. The past year has given us a chance to reflect on our work.  Some of us have suddenly had to work at home, in bedrooms, or around the dining room table. And yet others are working on the frontlines, with jobs that are more important than ever. Regardless of your situation, work has been a point of reflection for nearly all of us. And since we spend so much time and emotional energy doing it, our jobs contribute greatly to our quality of life.  

All this seems obvious, and yet many of us do not take the time to really reflect, pray, and invite conversation about what we do for a living and how we understand work. Scripture has a lot to offer us when it comes to how we see our jobs, and what we expect out of them, Some of this wisdom might surprise you, but all of it is more relevant now than ever. Next weekend, I will begin a new series called Essential: Why Work Matters. We will spend three weeks reflecting on the nature of work and learning what God has to say about our jobs.

This weekend, I will be ending our series Frame of Mind with a really important message about the lifelong tension between living in fear and living in faith. I think the year ahead can and will be different, but it will require us to live more out of a faith in what God can do instead of a fear over what might happen. It is a powerful and hopeful message and I hope you will listen this Sunday. As a reminder, we livestream at 8, 9, 10, or 11am and you can watch worship anytime OnDemand.

Thank you everyone for hanging in there and making church a priority in your life. In fact, we’d love to get your input to help us in our decision making over returning to in-person worship. If you could please take a few minutes and fill out a brief survey here, we would greatly appreciate it. I will be communicating more next week about our plans over the next few months.

Have a great day, and I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Peace+
Matt  

P.S. My new podcast/radio show The F Word: Conversations on Faith is now one month old! This weekend we have a new episode on the power of rest. I will interview Rabbi Amy Feder on the ancient idea of Sabbath and how it can transform the way we live today. I am having a lot of fun with this new project and it is a chance to share the ministry of The Gathering to a wider audience. But I need your help. If you haven’t done so, I hope you will subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Share an episode, leave a review, or post it and help us get the word out. The show also airs every Sunday afternoon here in St. Louis on The Big 550 KTRS. Thanks for your support!