Sermon, "Yeah...It Is Your Job!" from Jan 26, 2020 by Rev. Dr. Luther W. Symons

“No, I won’t do it. It’s not my job!” I was 12 years old, and I was indignant that I was asked to clean my younger brothers’ room. Generally, I was the obedient and helpful one. Generally, my middle brother (a year younger than me) was the free-spirited, independent one. He had been asked over and over again to clean his room, because we were expecting company. And he simply and cheerfully refused. Repeatedly. I had cleaned my room, the bathroom and tidied the living room and kitchen. When Dad said to me, in considerable exasperation, “Please just get it done. We don’t have time for this,” I was upset. How dare he expect me to do it, when I’d done pretty much everything else already, and that shiftless creature that lived with us, did nothing? How could he let him get away with it. I wouldn’t do it, I insisted. It wasn’t my job! At which, Dad looked up, partly surprised, partly determined, partly annoyed, and he announced simply, “yeah…it is your job!” There are times when doing God’s work in the world, may seem like it’s not my job. It’s not my call. "Talking to people about God, about spirituality and that sort of thing, is best left to pastors and deacons, not me.” That’s how most of us think. But as we work through the calls that we see manifested in the Gospel, it becomes clear that irrespective of our jobs or activities or occupations, God calls us all to be about the business of proclamation and service in a world that needs it: our world! Luther called that idea being a part of the priesthood of all believers. Pr. Luther