Sometimes life surprises you with moments where you STOP, REFLECT, and come to the REALIZATION that you are falling short of a standard that you have set for yourself. I fall short often. 

Today, following a deeply theological conversation with an advisor, one that ranged from Paul Tillich’s understanding of “grace”, to Anselm’s theory of the atonement, to restoration of God’s honor being rightly understood as harmony and right relationship between the Creator and the humankind, I had that moment.

When you are caught up in menial tasks, as I was for much of today, it is easy to long for that type of deep  and enlightening conversation regarding things that really matter- things such as how “bad” theories of the atonement can lead to understandings of God as punitive and retributive in character and how that can shape our relationships as individuals and shape our institutions. However, in the midst of the menial a moment of grace lifted me from self-indulgence, to reflection and a deeper realization. What seemed like menial work for me was actually the investment of others to create ministry that will touch lives and change communities. What felt menial to me was actually touching upon the sacred work of others.

Then I read these words from Kahlil Gibran,

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads

drawn from your heart,

even as if your beloved

were to wear that cloth.

Today, May 1st, marks International Workers Day. A day set aside to recall the Haymarket Massacre that took place in Chicago on May 4, 1886. A peaceful rally for a just cause, an eight hour work day, ended in deadly violence that left both workers and police dead. It has been argued that no event has impacted the history of labor and worker’s rights than this event.

We take so much for granted. We fail to connect the consumer goods that we enjoy with the labor that produced it and the working conditions of those individuals and families. And sometimes we fail to stop and consider; “What is it to work with love?” What is it to work with what has been called the very nature of God. For God is Love.