“Go
to the ants! Consider their ways and be wise. Having no captain,
overseer, or ruler, they provide their supplies in the summer, and gather their
food in the harvest. How long will you slumber? When will you rise
from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of
the hands to sleep – so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your
need like an armed man.” Proverbs 6:6-11
It
may be easy enough to see that the Teacher is speaking of daily work, the kind
of work by which we earn our own wages. The integrity of the worker is
measured by knowing what needs to be done and then going about doing it without
having to be prodded or threatened. The need for the work exists by the
very fact that we are employed to do that necessary work. Failure to do
the work or being determined to be one who will not work unless threatened, the
employer will soon realize the employee must be watched and managed constantly,
sometimes even threatened before the work will be done. Sooner or later,
and probably sooner, and the employer will decide the worker is himself too
much work; and the employer will find another who is more dependable and
determined.
The
same may be said of sanctification; that is, growing in faith and love, the
fruits of which are mercy, justice, and compassion. Knowing we become
part of a community in our baptism, we should come to understand more about
what happens when we are justified by The Lord. We are not merely “saved”
from the sins of our past; we are set free! The chains have been broken,
and we are thus enabled to live into the Covenant, the Promise of our
Lord that better is always ahead of us.
This
justification, then, calls us to work and determination. It isn’t that we
can earn Divine Favor, for this Favor has already been revealed in Christ on
the Cross and in our justification. The work, the determination to do
well comes to be understood that the well-being of the community we are
baptized into depends on us all doing our own part. Ultimately it is our
task, our charge as a community to reveal the Glory of the Merciful One who
calls us all to bigger and better things. It is not work for its own
sake. Rather, it is a means to a glorious end.
This
involves not only worship (that is, just going to church), but also Scripture
study, fasting, receiving the Sacraments of the Church with one another, and
ultimately making disciples who are equipped to make disciples themselves;
teaching them to do the work necessary to sustain and strengthen the community
of faith. The “poverty” of spirit comes upon us almost without notice –
until it is too late! – when we do not sustain our growth and, consequently,
the growth of the community by encouraging one another. Our justification
in The Lord must never be considered so personal that it becomes so completely
private as to be construed as pure selfishness and self-serving; because soon
enough the community will suffer as a result.
Let
us learn from the ants, then. Let us understand that seeking the
betterment of the community depends on each of us doing our own parts. It
is not the burden of one or another; it is a community privilege that brings
forth opportunities we cannot begin to know or appreciate until they are
revealed in due course. And they will be revealed! That is faith
informed! And no poverty of spirit shall come upon us.
The
Lord is great, is He not?
Michael
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