Who is Going to do your Job Next? - May 13
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 8, 47; PM Psalm 24, 96; Ezek. 1:1-14,24-28b; Heb. 2:5-18; Matt. 28:16-20
From the age of fifteen until twenty-two years old, I spent my summers living in a green canvas wall tent in the Cherokee staff grounds of Kia Kima Scout Reservation. Every summer, I would head up to Hardy, Arkansas in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains to work at a Boy Scout Camp, but it was really about learning how to grow up.
My first summer, during the first-year staff tour, we were shown the laundry facilities and it was that weekend that I washed my clothes on my own first the first time in my life. We had to get up on our own, check in with our supervisors, do different chores for our own living area, maintain decent hygiene, and help the camp get up and running as well. I learned how to use a posthole digger, plug a flat on tire, pop a clutch on an old stick shift, chew tobacco, and cook about anything on an open fire. I also learned how to stand up for myself, advocate for my friends, teach ideas and values, and how to make huge mistakes and yet still learn about responsibility, integrity, and leadership.
My first summer, I worked on the Waterfront staff teaching swimming, canoeing, and lifesaving and by my last summer, I was the program director of the camp. I can remember sitting on the porch where my boss was living one evening. We were reflecting on what we had accomplished, and he asked me an interesting question: “Who is going to do your job next year?” Did Peter know I was about to move on or was I being promoted? “I don’t know” I responded with a puzzled look.
And Peter shared with me, “What makes this camp great is not about what you can accomplish, but how you raise up the next class of leaders. If you are not teaching someone to replace you, you are not doing your job!” It was a shocking statement and it certainly threatened my sense of job security. But he was right. The best leaders make everyone else around them a whole lot better.
Today is the Feast of the Ascension. This is the moment in the Church year when Jesus leaves the disciples to ascend to heaven. He tells them that it is their turn to lead. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Jesus in a way is passing the torch to the disciples. It is their turn to go out and do the work of healing and proclaiming God’s love and grace.
There is a billboard that you see frequently in rural Alabama and Tennessee. It is simply, “Jesus Saves.” Of course, I believe this to be true, but we all have been equipped to share in God’s holy work of healing and redemption. Yes, Jesus saves, but we are the ones who now get to live into that Holy work. The challenge is to believe that we are equipped. Each of us has the capacity to love, to give, to heal, to pray, to share, and to be. And we get to be the hands and feet of Christ.
Friends, there is Holy work for us to do. No better time to get started than now.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: Who are the role models who have taught you something valuable? Who are the people that you have taught and inspired?
Daily Challenge: Do one thing today to make a difference in someone’s life. If you need a suggestion here is sign up to volunteer with our ministry in Avondale and another sign up to help with a project on May 22.