An Eigth Day of Christmas Thought: Is Your Family Involved in Your Work?

Yes, I realize it's New Year's Day. So, OK, Happy New Year!

But it's also the Eighth Day of Christmas, and I thought we might continue where we left off last time, when we focused on if and how a wife is involved in her husband's work. Since then, I happened to remember how my father - sort of out of the blue - first indicated an interest in my work. I had landed a job in a bank with the title of "Vice President." For some reason, this seemed to impress him and he expressed it. I don't remember exactly how he communicated this to me. But given that he wasn't the most loquacious guy in the world, if memory serves me here, I think he just repeated "Vice President" and sort of smiled and nodded his head after I had told him about the new position. Frankly, I knew it wasn't such a big deal, but I was glad he felt good about it. It came at a time when I was struggling in my career and turned out to be good move that got me back on track. Given my Dad's inherent common sense, I suspect he knew that, even if it hadn't dawned on me yet.

So as I was thinking about all this during some holiday down time, I remembered the reading from Luke's Gospel this past Christmas Eve. It's about a Dad's remarkable involvement in his son's work. The Dad is Zechariah. His involvement consists of a prophesy about his son John's future career. Filled with the Holy Spirit after his son's circumcision, Zechariah, his tongue now loosed from being dumb-struck when he doubted the angel's words delivered to him in the Temple nine months previously, proclaims these awesome words that put my own work in perspective. For whatever reason, even though I've read and heard this passage dozens of times, it deeply impressed me this time around:

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,

for he has visited and redeemed his people,

and has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David,

as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 

that we should be saved from our enemies,

and from the hand of all who hate us;

to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,

and to remember his holy covenant,

the oath which he swore to our father Abraham,

to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him without fear,

in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most Hight;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

through the tender mercy of our God,

when the day shall dawn upon us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace."

If you read these words slowly and thoughtfully, which I urge you to do, you may arrive at this question: What must Zechariah have felt as he proclaimed this work of his son John? Proud father? We don't know, but might imagine. And if you've ever made an attempt to judge the "importance" of your own work, this might give you some realistic perspective with which to judge. My own reaction was the realization that the importance of my work really springs from how diligent I am in fulfilling the duties of my state of life as a husband and father - and to fulfill those duties in accordance with God's will, as best as I am able.

Using any other standard, our work really is small potatoes, isn't it? If you're not sure about that, just compare it with Zechariah's description John the Baptist's work:

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most Hight;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

to give knowledge of salvation to his people

in the forgiveness of their sins,

through the tender mercy of our God,

when the day shall dawn upon us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Agreed?

Merry Christmas!