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It may surprise you to learn that St. Paul worked as a tentmaker. Even while traveling great distances to announce the Good News of Christ’s resurrection, he worked. This is surprising because we tend to put the early apostles on a pedestal, thinking they did nothing but pray, perform miracles, and hear the voice of God. But Paul and the others worked as they traveled and preached; it wasn’t necessarily an all-or-nothing endeavor. Paul surely taught them while he worked: Through his words and interactions with his coworkers, he showed them the loving power of God.
God uses you in your work, too. He uses all of us, if we let Him.
Remember that, through your baptism, the Holy Spirit lives in you. Like a deep well that requires only a bucket to reach the hidden waters below, you have only to ‘dip into’ the power of God to access the love, patience, compassion, peace, and more that He has made available to you through your baptism.
How? First, through prayer. Prayer keeps Him close in mind. Sit quietly, thank Him for loving you, and pay attention to the thoughts that come to you. Read the psalms or any book of the New Testament and see what words strike you.
Then, draw on the patience that dwells in you when dealing with a difficult client or child. Ask the Spirit to give you insight into how to handle a particular situation – and then pay attention to the ideas that come to mind. Ask Him to help you be fair and honest in your work, in your dealings with coworkers and how you use your time. Ask Him to guide your words when discussions get tense – and then let Him. Ask Him to bless the people who will benefit from the work you do. All these and more will bring our Lord into your workplace.
As Christ spoke to the apostles, He speaks also to and through all of us. We simply have to be open to hearing His words. Start by taking a few moments to thank Him for your job and the people you interact with – that’s prayer. Then, pay attention to how He speaks in your workplace. For example, when you get a friendly call or email just when you need a pick-me-up, that’s Christ speaking through that other person. When you offer encouragement or other kind words to another person, you’re letting Christ speak through you.
As Teresa of Avila said, “God has no hands or feet or voice except ours, and through these He works.”
No matter what kind of work we do, one of our jobs is to let others see God through our words and interactions with others while we work, just as Paul and the other apostles did.
“(Paul) stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.” – Acts 18:3
“Lord, let the work I do be done with You.”
Thank you for reading my reflection. © 2024 Gina Bedell Comments are always welcome!
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