jesus, the worker
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; therefore He has anointed Me. He has sent Me..." —Luke 4:18
As Jesus began His public ministry, His culminating work of our salvation, He taught us how to work. Jesus worked:
- in the synagogue (Lk 4:16). Begin your work at church.
- reading the Bible (Lk 4:16). Base your work on the Bible.
- anointed by the Holy Spirit (Lk 4:18).
- to bring the gospel to the poor (Lk 4:18).
- proclaiming "liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release to prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord" (Lk 4:18-19). Jesus focused on freedom. So we should work for freedom.
- prophesying (Lk 4:24). Seek this gift of the Spirit above all others (1 Cor 14:1).
- while being persecuted (Lk 4:29-30). "Blest are those persecuted for holiness' sake; the reign of God is theirs" (Mt 5:10).
As disciples of Jesus, we imitate Him and work as He worked. We work through, with, in, and for Him. We are God's work, "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:10, RSV-CE). Accept Jesus as Lord of your work.
Prayer: Father, may I work not "for perishable food but for food that remains unto life eternal" (Jn 6:27).
Promise: "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." —1 Cor 2:2, RSV-CE
Praise: The Lord prepared Pope St. Gregory to reflect His greatness. He wrote: "Because I love Him, I do not spare myself in speaking of Him."
Reference: (For a related teaching on Job Performance for Jesus, order, listen to or download our CD 43-3 or DVD 43 on our website.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 15, 2017
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