Sermon - The Rev. Leah D. Schade
Reformation Lutheran Church, Media, PA
September 2, 2007
Text:  2 Corinthians 5:16-20

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ.

Thank God it’s __________ (Friday).  No - Monday!  Thank God it’s Monday!  What?  You’ve never heard that phrase before?   Well, tomorrow is Labor Day, when our country takes a day to rest from its labor.  And it’s a good opportunity for us as Christians to think about our work from a faith perspective.  I think it’s important to see how what we learn and celebrate here on Sunday - namely God’s reconciling love for us and all the world - is carried into our daily lives on Monday morning when we walk into work, and during the Wednesday afternoon meeting, and while we’re working the late shift on Friday night.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I really like my job.  I get to do all the things that God has given me the talents to do.  And every day I see how my faith and my work are intertwined.  But then, I’m a pastor.  Of course it’s easy to see the connection for me.  But what about you?  How does God’s call to you as a Christian extend into your work life? 

Well, I asked three among you today to consider this question, and others about how their faith and their work interact.  And I would like to invite them to come forward and share with us what they do and how their faith guides them in their work.

8:30:  Linda Fertig, Dave Helms, Walt Woerheide

10:00  Carol Steinbrecher, Dave Black, Les Bryant

I’d like to begin by having each of you say your name, what your occupation is, and just a few comments about your calling as a Christian and your calling in your vocation. . . .

Now one of the things that has always interested me is how people maintain a faithful perspective even in a workplace where overt expressions of religion are inappropriate?

Another topic that’s important is ethics.  Do your faith and values ever conflict with your business ethics or professional expectations?  How do you handle it?   If your superiors ask you to do something that's legally allowed but not especially Christian, how do you (or would you) handle it?

Finally, can you give an example of how your Christian values affect your work life.


Now here’s where I want to point out that each of these individuals is living out the reading we had today from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians.  He says that we are “ambassadors for Christ.”

So what is an ambassador?  

The dictionary defines an ambassador as:

A diplomatic official of the highest rank appointed and accredited as a representative from one entity to another.   They are on permanent mission to certain international organizations, such as the United Nations, because they are an authorized messenger or representative.

How interesting that Paul would give us this title of ambassador.  The Greek word here is presbuteros.  Sound familiar?  It’s the root for the word “Presbyterian”.  It means an elder who acts as a representative. 

Think of the implications, then for your role as a Christian.  You are, in the eyes of the Church, an official of the highest ranking representing the Church of Jesus Christ.  You are like a diplomatic official, heading the Church’s permanent mission to your company, or your school, or your household - wherever your particular vocation places you at any given time.  This means you are the representative of Reformation, of the Lutheran Church, of Jesus’ Church.

Pretty big stuff, wouldn’t you say?  How does this change the way you look at your co-workers and fellow community members?  How does this change the way you view your role in the world?  Think of it - you and your fellow employees chose to come to this particular workplace.  For better or worse, it becomes a community in which you spend a majority of your waking hours.  Why not help to shape it into a community that cares not just for profit or the mission statement, but cares for each other and the larger community in which it exists?

I’m reading a book right now called The CEO and the Monk about a utility company in the Bronx that is being shaped by these principals of integrity, good corporate citizenship, and caring for the employees as people and not just cogs in the machine of the engine.  They are intentionally creating “a workplace where spirituality is woven into the fabric of daily life without religious overtones but loaded with meaning . . . Without fanfare, KeySpan has embraced a management philosophy that somehow balances bottom-line demands with a sense of caring and family.  There is the palpable belief in the proposition that what is good for the soul is also good for business,” (pp. 4-5).

They write:  “This is where we spend the majority of our time, and it is often the place where we get to use our God-given talents.  It is also the locale in which we work out the deeper questions of our life journey:  What is our vocation?  How do we make a living and not lose our soul in the process?  Can our businesses make the world a better place for our children?  How might we use corporate and personal wealth to heal the woundedness of the world community?  What will be our legacy after we’re gone?  The workplace can be a place where the Divine loves to show up:  to assist, direct, and have some fun.  Mammon and God do mix.” (p. 16)

I believe we are moving into a time of spiritual renewal - not just in our personal lives, but in our work lives and workplaces.  And you, as an ambassador of the Church of Jesus Christ, have a key role to play.  Monday through Saturday, you may be working or going to school in concrete and glass towers, and this hallowed hall with stained-glass windows and cushioned pews, may feel like a whole world away.   But your mandate as a Christian remains much the same -- creating a spiritual connectedness between the employees and executives, between the soul of the company and the bottom line, and between the company and the culture around it, which is constantly changing and challenging.

I could have asked any one of you to sit in these chairs up here.  Because you all do the work of ambassadorship - even if you’re not aware of it.  Perhaps it is a commitment to doing the right thing. Maybe it’s the kind word you say to your fellow employee.  Maybe it’s the way you stood up against a bully or addressed an unfair business practice.  Maybe it’s your passion for helping your place of business “go green” and be more environmentally sensitive.  Maybe it’s your idea for helping your poorer customers afford your product.

Whatever it is, you do it.  And when you do with quiet intentionality - you can be sure you living out your calling as ambassador of Christ.  With such creativity and spirituality, we can all look forward to saying:  Thank God it’s Monday!

Amen.

The CEO and the Monk, Robert B. Catell and Kenny Moore, with Glenn Rifkin; John Wiley and Songs, Inc., NJ, 2004