“Go! Jesus sent his disciples out into the community with the specific assignment to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.”1 These solemn words were spoken with authority and compassion to those who were to become the first Christians. Their work would be dangerous and difficult, Jesus warned them, but the same Father who watches over the sparrows would be tenderly caring for them.2 In this brief business plan spelled out in chapter 10 of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus established a work model complete with work to be accomplished, compensation, skill development, instructions for doing the work, obstacles to overcome, safety regulations, assurance of success, motivational support, and retirement package.3
But there is reluctance in contemporary Christian practice to acknowledge this calling in Matthew 10 as directly relevant today. The assignment to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons” may seem unrealistic, and therefore the rest of the calling doesn’t apply. Even the language sounds strange to modern ears, because the explicit goals of our business plans are generally geared around making money, not loving our neighbor. Allen Verhey describes vast changes in the economic landscape since the time of Jesus and thereby implies that we shouldn’t read too much into the literal details of the ethics of work from the Bible.4
However, if it is possible to perceive this specific calling (described in Matthew 10) as the duty and privilege of all Christians, then certainly we should take great care to follow the instructions to the best of our ability in thought and in deed. It is beyond the scope of this essay to fully defend this position, but there is ample evidence in contemporary practice and scholarship to justify it.5 To draw from the scriptural text itself, Jesus appears to be speaking to everyone present and in the future who would expect to follow him, when he said in the context of this calling, “Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven…”6 Also, “whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”7
Indeed, this calling is not an avocation or post-retirement diversion for ancient or modern Christians. It is the serious full-time business of being a Christian. In a previous paper, I noted that the power to heal lies in one’s willingness to become enslaved to Christ.8 In his work plan, Jesus said that those who took up the cross would be qualified to follow him. The degree to which one takes up this cross is the criterion for which a Christian knows his calling. To understand the application of this command, a question emerges: “Is taking up the cross a metaphor for the contemplative or active life, or both?” I argue that it is both.
For the ancient Greek philosophers, there was no question that the contemplative life was superior to the physical toil of slave labor. The economy was based on slavery, and the few who were privileged to be unemployed were free to escape the bodily annoyances in contemplation. This demeaning attitude toward work persisted in Christian practice from antiquity through the Middle Ages. The best Christian, therefore, was one who was free to think and pray. Augustine admitted that charity (labor on behalf of one’s neighbor) might be momentarily greater, but the sincere Christian would turn from the distraction and “give [himself] over in leisure to study and contemplation.”9
But was there a genuine cross to bear in the monastery? On the surface, the relinquishing of earthly possessions may have appeared to be a sacrifice. Ironically though, in being poor, the monks earned a badge of pride, and in this way became rich. Being poor carried a corrupting influence and attracted large numbers of monks. Eagerness to sacrifice all for the life of contemplation and admiration revealed a flaw in the concept. The monastery was not the model for a contemplative life that bore a cross.
Ultimately, it was a radical shift in the understanding of God in the Renaissance that brought about a complete reversal in the attitude toward work. The distant and passive God whose image and likeness was withdrawn from the active life was overthrown for a God of power and action. The image of this God made man possessing both intellect and hands. Writing of the glorified human worker, Lee Hardy explains, “The ideal human being is not the thinker who merely contemplates the idea of beauty, but the artist, who both contemplates that idea and shapes the world accordingly.”10
Does the freedom to create involve a cross to bear? As technology has increasingly become the ontology of late modernity, humans and their tools have become blurred. Humans appear to be literally making themselves, as they adapt to the creation of their machines, according to Hannah Arendt.11 As long as machines appear to offer comfort and more freedom from work, technology promises an escape from sacrificing. This model of work in the post-modern age, where work is the consuming act of our lives, promising personal leisure instead of loving (or healing) of others, is not the model Jesus left.
A Christian’s two great commandments, loving God and loving one’s neighbor, both involve genuine sacrifice. However, the incompatibility of loving God and loving our neighbor was a precept that originated with Aristotle and persisted throughout the Middle Ages. The act (or work) of loving one’s neighbor prevents the opportunity to contemplate, or love God, Aristotle taught. The popularity of monasticism stemmed from the widespread belief that the contemplative life was superior to the life of action, and it provided a convenient way to “bear a cross”, since Christians were no longer being persecuted. Centuries later, though, Luther overthrew the monastic way of life, as faith in God had ultimately been replaced with striving for God’s acceptance. This selfish motive was exposed, and the honesty of working for others was elevated to religious significance. Luther saw the worker as God’s representative, cultivating and stewarding God’s good gifts.12 Therefore, turning away from a neighbor in need is tantamount to turning away from God himself. Calvin likewise saw that the knowledge of God (or love of Him) must bear fruit in the active life and that serving our neighbors is impossible without the love of God.13
If seeking the contemplative life (serving God) and seeking the active life (serving our neighbor) are unified by taking up the cross, then a sincere Christian will trust there is a relationship between his prayer and his actions. But there are questions concerning the choice of one’s particular vocation. Luther and Calvin disagree, for example, on whether the discernment should come from one’s station in life or his God-given talents. Luther argues that God’s will placed each individual where he is needed, and that station is the means for his service to others. Calvin, on the other hand, claims that usefulness comes not from those who gave birth to us but from what God has given us. Both options are problematic, however, as Luther’s formula leaves no room for the development of greater capacities to give, while Calvin’s design could result in the temptation for self-improvement and thereby helping self above others.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers an alternative method for discerning one’s calling based on the acceptance of responsibility. More like Paul’s concept of being enslaved to Christ, his model of utter unselfishness may ultimately help every Christian follow in some degree Christ’s command to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. “It is the fact,” he explains, “that life is bound to man and to God which sets life in the freedom of a man’s own life. Without this bond and without this freedom there is no responsibility.”14 The freedom of a man’s own life that comes from being bound to God is an indication of one’s access to infinite Spirit, from which to perform deeds of great importance to others. Taken to its full range of possibility, the Christian who lives so selflessly, so faithfully to God, and so full of love for his neighbor will naturally cure him of sorrow, selfishness, and strife. As Jesus explained through teaching and demonstration, the healing of sin comes from the same source (Holy Spirit) as the healing of sickness, “demons,” and the dying.15
Therefore, instead of despairing over the overwhelming task of curing the sick, sinful, and dying, Christians can appreciate the opportunity to bless their neighbors at any station. Whether currently working as a fisherman, tent-maker, or financial analyst, Christians can take responsibility through their love of God and their neighbor. The first healings may consist of binding up the broken hearted or stilling the storms of hatred. All followers of Christ learn the skills for their calling gradually, through taking on more of the responsibility described by Bonhoeffer.
According to his definition of responsibility, a locker repairman and seminary professor are equally capable of taking on the Chrisian calling. The essential issue is not the form of the vocation, but the choice of freedom in Spirit to commit to the service of man and God. Many of the limitations of work could be called into question when vocation is discerned from the freedom in Spirit, rather than in its form.
For instance, the selection of a job can be guided more wisely when the options are evaluated on the basis of the opportunity to serve, rather than the mechanics of the work. Lack of appreciation by fellow workers is always difficult, but the sting is lessened when work commitment is made to Spirit, rather than a project. Being passed over for promotion is less devastating when one’s worth is contingent not upon the form, or title of a job, but on finding freedom in service. Instead of early burnout, workers who engage in responsibility enjoy increased opportunity to be useful. Even the historical tension between labor and management is relaxed when both parties seek responsibility, as is taking place in the recent turnaround of the US steel industry. The Christian Science Monitor reports that “in an industry that has a history of difficult union-management relations, much of the animosity in the hot and noisy mills is dissipating…Now the workers are basically running the plant, making many of the day-to-day operating decisions.”16
Steel laborers on the shop floor and clergymen preparing sermons all have the option to follow Jesus’ command. Regardless of the form of their labor, Christians can commit their lives in service to God and to their neighbors. Wherever they are, their freedom in the Spirit enables them to heal the broken hearted and even to cure the sick. Their life of action keeps them in relation to their neighbor, but their life of contemplation is necessary in order to know how to bless their neighbor. The more earnestly they commit to the well-being of others, the more dangerous and difficult their work will become. But Jesus promised the same Father who watches over the sparrows will still tenderly care for all of them. Even today.
…..The Christian Science Monitor reports that “in an industry that has a history of difficult union-management relations, much of the animosity in the hot and noisy mills is dissipating…Now the workers are basically running the plant, making many of the day-to-day operating decisions.”17
The issue of equality (or inequality) extends even beyond corporate management, to the systemic causes of global poverty and other forms of oppression. Christine Pohl points out, “Today, some of the most complex political and ethical tensions center around recognizing or treating people as equals.”18 The freedom in Spirit spoken of by Bonhoeffer would be irrelevant to the oppressed and poor, unless the recognition of equality has a firm basis and results in a corrective action. Agape is a firm basis, because it is a self-sacrificing love, and its concern is for the well-being of all.
A biblical example of agape’s capacity to bless the masses in a practical way is Jesus’ feeding of the multitude. Each individual had tangible proof of being loved, since there was enough food for everyone. Not even the one who brought the bread and fish was singled out as privileged above others; nor were large groups of people deprived of the blessing. The purpose of Jesus’ work, helping — or curing — anyone in need was not for the purpose of accruing to himself. His “freedom in Spirit” resulted in a compassionate action that benefited everyone in need. Christians can learn from this example how to make social, political, and moral decisions based on a commitment to bless others. The Spirit that blesses one is the same Spirit that is available to bring food and blessing to even the poorest in the world. Therefore it is the work of the contemplative Christian to see that his practice of agape results in restorative action that improves the lives of all mankind.
Steel laborers on the shop floor, those who heal the sick in Jesus’ name, and those who feed the hungry all have the option to follow Jesus’ command. Regardless of the form of their labor, Christians can commit their lives in service to God and to their neighbors. Wherever they are, their freedom in the Spirit enables them to heal the broken hearted and even to cure the sick. Their life of action keeps them in relation to their neighbors near and far, but their life of contemplation is necessary in order to know how to bless their neighbor. The more earnestly they commit to the well-being of others, the more dangerous and difficult their work will become. But Jesus promised the same Father who watches over the sparrows will still tenderly care for all of them. Even today.
1 Mat 10.8
2 Mat 10.31
3 Work to be accomplished: “Cure the sick, raises the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons” v. 8
Compensation: “Laborers deserve their food.” v. 10; “Find out who is worthy and stay there…” v. 11
Skill development: “…it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” v. 20
Instructions for doing the work: “As you enter the house, greet it…if anyone not welcome you…shake off the dust from your feet.” V. 12,14; “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” v. 16; “Take up the cross and follow me.” v. 38
Obstacles to overcome: “They will hand you over to councils…” v. 17; “When they persecute you…” v. 23; “…how…they will malign those of his household.” v. 25
Safety regulations: “When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next…” v. 23; “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…” v. 28
Assurance of success: “…you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” v. 23
Motivational support: “So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” v. 31; “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” V. 40
Retirement package: “…the one who endures to the end will be saved.” v. 22; “…those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” v. 39.
4 Allen Verhey, Remembering Jesus, (Grand Rapids, MI: William Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2002),253-262
5 See, for examples, Robert Peel, Spiritual Healing in a Scientific Age, (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987) and Healing Spiritually, (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1996).
6 Mat. 10.32
7 Mat. 10.38
8 Shirley Paulson, “We become perfectly free by becoming enslaved to Christ,” paper for Christian Moral Reasoning, Dr. Brent Waters, November, 2003.
9 St. Augustine, City of God,XIX, 19, quoted from Lee Hardy, The Fabric of this world, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 19.
10 Lee Hardy, The Fabric of this World, (Grand Rapids, MI: William Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 28.
11 Class notes.
12 Hardy, 48,49
13 Ibid, 58.
14 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1955, trans, Neville Horton Smith, 1949), 221.
15 Mat 9.5
16 Ron Scherer and Adam Parker, “Big Steel’s surprise comeback”, The Christian Science Monitor, December 5, 2003, p. 1.
17 Ron Scherer and Adam Parker, “Big Steel’s surprise comeback”, The Christian Science Monitor, December 5, 2003, p. 1.
18 Christine D. Pohl, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, (Grand Rapids, MI: William Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1999), 61.
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