The Meaning of Work / Pilgrimage Wk 5

Read "The Meaning of Work" at the Washington Post.

And for extra credit, "What It Takes to Make a Student" (NYTimes.com requires a free login - also, the article will go into the archives (that you have to pay for) in, I think, two weeks).

At my temp job I work sometimes with guys like Chris. As the author does, we want to ask "Why?" so we can start fixing. But the answer is chaos, it's every reason: education, racism and other echoes of slavery, behavioral, societial, the way that poverty is passed from generation to generation by a thousand structural and informal paths. (The Times article relates to this.)

I think of Jody's definition of "justice" - the absence of privilege. I know there's some great work in biblical archaeology (though I won't source it right now) corellating times when OT prophets were especially active with times of economic stratification and inequality (privilege). When the playing field was more level, the prophets were quieter.

Though I'm closer to Chris right now than I might have been (with a different education, or sense of vocation) and I have a sliver of insight into his world, I'm still on the privileged side of a fundamental difference. One car accident sent Chris on a tailspin; for others it's a health problem, or a child, or a divorce. But we see in Chris's story how one unexpected expense was a grenade tossed at a fragile future. I can absorb any one or two of those surprises with my job, savings, and insurance, and have access to a support network if I became overwhelmed on my own.

Chris's story also shows the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the self-esteem movement; he's inclined to believe the posters and poems, and has good intentions, but self-esteem didn't do anything for him after his car crash. Feeling good is a by-product (and an unpredictable one, at that) of doing and being good.

"All you got to do is love yourself, dude," he said.

"That's what I'm saying," Chris said quietly. "Where do I know how to love?"

Mike looked Chris in the eye. Just like they teach at the job center and in the schools, except that this was nothing like that.

"You can do anything, man," Mike said. "You're 25. You can do anything."

Sometimes I think the bunk about "anything" keeps us from doing SOMEthing. Wanting/needing/feeling entitled to it ALL, NOW, prevents us from taking the one step in front of us that is small but possible.

"There's some file cabinets that need to be moved," she said. From a distance, she had been watching how hard Chris was working and had said she was impressed. Up close, she saw that he was perspiring.

I don't have the answers, but elbow grease is a part of it I'm sure.

I need to wrap up this meandering for some other things today, so where is Jesus in all of this? What should the church, Christ's body, be in Chris's life? If he's a member? If he's not? Maybe you can comment.

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A couple good things to mention from the Pilgrimage last night. We included, for the first time, a person who was not present for week one. I haven't had the opportunity yet, but I'm itching to hear from her what she thought about it all. If any of you are pondering checking us out, email me at musicstpetersucc@sbcglobal.net for logistical details/directions.

We also had our second instance of "Could we continue this conversation beyond the circle?" and other beautiful, risky affirmation that our practice of discernment and intentional stewardship is moving and impacting us as we make decisions about how we will live, in everyday ways and in life-changing ones. Apologies for the run-on sentence; too much thought to cram in to words.

It's like this, and we're headed in a vital direction. -h