Keeping Our Focus at Work During These Final Days Before Christmas
(re-post)
During these last days of Advent, it's a little bit of this, a little
bit of that. At home, we're putting final touches on our decorations,
making sure all gifts are in order, checking the cupboard to be sure
we've bought all the vittles for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. At
work, there's a loose string or two to be tied into a neat bow before we
take some time off between Christmas Day and New Year's. Has every
detail been attended to, every problem addressed? Any correspondence
need an answer before we turn our hearts and minds away from the job and
let our spirit bathe in the wonder of the Baby in the Manger?
As we work through our checklists, it gets harder each day to focus our
full attention on the mundane details. But we can't afford to slack off
now. Beside the practical consequences of failing to be diligent in our
appointed service at work, never mind those duties of our state of life
that vary according to whether we're single, married, with or without
children, etc., we know that our concrete efforts in the material world bear great spiritual weight.
The best way to understand just how much weight would be to think back 2,000 years or so. Specifically, let's remember that journey to Bethlehem Mary and Joseph made in response to the Roman Empire's call for a census.
The timing couldn't have been worse for the holy couple, with Mary in
the final days of her pregnancy, and the journey quite arduous, lacking
the amenities of modern travel. The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem
is 80 miles. If Joseph and Mary
traveled with a caravan - a common way to travel in those days,
it would take about four days (20 miles a day), plus the time spent in
Bethlehem registering for the census and - as we all know - tending to
the Birth of Our Lord.
So do you think St. Joseph
felt pressure or anxiety as he prepared to travel to
Bethlehem? He had a business, and I suspect there were some customer
demands he had to attend to before leaving for the journey. As opposed my own business, he couldn't just pick
up his carpenter shop and carry it with him the way we might bring a laptop and cell phone and stay on
top of things or respond to problems if need be. Right now, as we all
feel a bit pressed to take care of business in these days before
Christmas, we might remember St Joseph, waking up to load the donkey and
gently
helping Our Blessed Mother up onto it so she could ride while he
walked the next days journey towards their destination. Such an
image brings back memories of leading my wife to the car when she was
due to give birth. That was a 10 minute drive to the hospital. It puts
things in perspective, doesn't it?
And so we return to all those last-minute tasks with a renewed spirit,
united to Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, seeking their intercession
for the grace to offer our efforts to Our Lord as we eagerly await the
great celebration of His Birth just a few days away. With God's grace,
we can never be waylaid in our intention to honor Him in our work, nor
can we be distracted by worldly cares from the preparation of our hearts
to welcome Him on Christmas Day.
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