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Follow Jesus to Job Satisfaction

            A recent poll announced that 77 percent of American employees hate their jobs, and that this ailing workforce is costing employers more than $350 billion in lost productivity. People are trudging off to work having a bad day even before they punch in, because they dread what some refer to as “job misery.” And job misery spills over into other areas of life like health problems, addictions, and broken relationships.

            The Bible doesn’t really tell us whether or not Matthew was happy working as a tax collector, but it does appear that he left his job without a notice or even collecting his last paycheck – because he wanted to follow Jesus. If you need to leave your job in order to follow Jesus then you have my blessing, but Jesus makes it clear in today’s gospel that you can follow him and keep your job. As a matter of fact, you can follow Jesus at your job, and at the gym, and in the classroom, and where you live and go out and hang out, and with your friends and family and everywhere in between. You see, for Christians, following Jesus is our job. Today’s account of Jesus calling Matthew to be a disciple provides us with relief from any Christian job misery and also fulfillment in our Christian calling as we Follow Jesus to Job Satisfaction.

            The fishing business and trade commerce in Capernaum was booming, and the Roman Empire made sure they got their piece of the pie. They taxed imports and exports, axles, wheels, animals, pedestrians, roads, and highways. They charged tolls to cross bridges and dock boats. They exacted fees for various licenses and permits, as well as harbor dues and town dues. Ground taxes amounted to one tenth of all grain and one fifth of all wine and fruit. Add to that the income taxes and poll taxes. The ingenuity of the Roman government finding items and activities to tax was countered by the inconvenience of the average Jewish citizen keeping up with the tax laws. Sometimes it was more than inconvenience, however. I read a story about a Jewish businessman being stopped by a tax collector on a journey and having to unload every piece of luggage and cargo and personal property from the carriage, its contents opened and strewn all over the ground, even private letters inspected. The tax collectors practiced their own ingenuity, too, by granting private favors to friends on their “fav five” list, such as passing off a slave as a son. So the Jews detested paying taxes for more reasons than personal economics. They longed for the glory days of a political Israel like the kingdoms of David and Solomon, and grudgingly obeyed Caesar and his heathen kingship with spite. And then their own kinsmen – fellow Jews like Levi (that is Matthew’s purely Jewish name) – served as local tax collecting deputies for the Roman government. What an antinationalist traitor!

            Like a Walgreens positioned at the busiest intersection, Matthew’s tax collector booth situated in Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee’s fishing docks couldn’t have been placed more strategically. Fishermen coming in with their catch and traders taking off with their goods kept Matthew plenty busy collecting taxes on it all. It wasn’t just a good location for Matthew, though. The Prophet from Nazareth also frequented these shores of Galilee and crowds gathered around to listen to him and bring friends or family members to be healed. During breaks in the action Matthew often had a chance to look and listen, and what he saw and heard from Jesus changed his life.

            There was something about this rabbi, Jesus. Definitely different than the other religious teachers, great rabbis, and even pious church people whom Matthew knew. They all looked on him with contempt. When he’d try to visit the local synagogue they’d sneer at him and exclude him from their religion. After all, religion was for good people and everybody knew Matthew wasn’t good enough. So he gradually felt further and further repelled from God and the church and he established closer connections with his tax collector friends. That didn’t seem to bother Jesus, however, whose appearance and message not only aroused Matthew’s conscience but opened his heart. Jesus was not harsh and judgmental like other religious people, not self-righteous and far away like other rabbis. It’s not that Jesus was soft on sin. He condemned it. But he also got involved with it, and didn’t preach from soapbox. Jesus came near to the outcast, the marginalized, the shamed and the labeled sinners like Matthew as their helper – even their friend. And so here, far away from the synagogue and unobserved by the self-righteous rabbis who told him that any kind of forgiveness for him was impossible, Matthew found mercy in Jesus. He heard Jesus speak parables about the lost being found. He watched Jesus heal those who didn’t understand religion or even who Jesus was, and couldn’t give him anything in return. Matthew even knew, or at least heard of, a few Galilean fishermen named Simon, Andrew, James, and John who had left their boats and nets to follow Jesus.

            Is there a Matthew in your life or in this neighborhood whom you can help? Someone who’s been dismissed by religious people or feels dismissed because of past sins or a present lifestyle? Maybe it’s the person who is riding a bike in the Miller Lite Ride for the Arts right now and they took your parking spot this morning? Or the person who smashed the beer bottle against our church building this morning at 1 a.m. after Riversplash? Someone who doesn’t think God will give them a chance? Maybe it’s you or your friend? Maybe it’s someone who comes to this church wondering if anybody will notice their need for mercy? Maybe it’s the person sitting next to you, or your sister or your son? Bring Jesus, the friend of sinners, to that person. It’s your job. Bring Jesus to that person by what you say and do. When they find mercy and meaning in Jesus, I guarantee you that they won’t be the only one fulfilled. Follow Jesus to Job Satisfaction.

            One Bible commentary takes us to Capernaum and explains, “Long before that eventful day which forever decided his life, Matthew had, in heart, become the disciple of Jesus. Only he dared not, could not, have hoped for personal recognition – far less for a call to discipleship. But when it came, and Jesus fixed on him that look of love which searched the inmost depth of the soul … it needed not a moment’s thought or consideration … the past seemed swallowed up in the present heaven of bliss. He said not a word, for his soul was in the speechless surprise of unexpected love and grace; but he rose up, left the custom-house, and followed [Jesus]” (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Eerdman’s Publishing Co, Grand Rapids, MI, Vol. 1, p. 519).

            According to a book called The Three Signs of a Miserable Job (Patrick Lencioni, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2007), one sign of job misery is anonymity. If people feel invisible or anonymous, particularly to their supervisor, they can’t love their job no matter what it pays. People need to have a sense of being understood and affirmed. The Bible tells us, “[Jesus] saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.” Jesus saw … Matthew. Jesus took notice of him, not as a tax collector named Matthew but as Matthew who happened to be a tax collector. To Jesus Matthew wasn’t an anonymous antinationalist to be dismissed, he was a person, a sinner, a soul, an individual to be understood and forgiven, to be empowered and employed. “Follow me,” Jesus said. “And Matthew got up and followed him.” No matter who you are, Jesus knows you, understands you, calls you, and empowers you.

            Did Matthew find job satisfaction following Jesus? Just refer to his gospel where he highlights the mercy of the God who sought him out on the shores of Galilee. Some of the most hope-filled Bible sections promising the grace of God to undeserving sinners are recorded only in Matthew’s gospel, such as the parables of the hidden treasure and pearl of great price, the unmerciful servant and the words of Jesus, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Not a single word that Matthew spoke is recorded in his gospel or in any other book of the Bible, but the words that he wrote comprise one of the greatest, most powerful, most widely read books ever written. In Jesus, Matthew found mercy, meaning, and job satisfaction. Whatever your career, or even if you don’t have a job, remember that it is part of a higher, holier, and happier calling of following Jesus.

            To celebrate his new career following Jesus, Matthew threw a celebration dinner and invited his tax collector friends and Jesus. The religious leaders in Capernaum were astonished that Jesus would attend. In their eyes, tax collectors simply didn’t measure up spiritually, and therefore they shouldn’t have mattered to a high profile rabbi like Jesus, especially since he claimed to be the Son of God. Why would God be interested in people who don’t live morally pure lives? “Go and learn what this means,” Jesus scolded them. “I desire mercy not sacrifice.”

            Comparing ourselves to others is so dangerous. Our inner insecurities become threatened, we get jealous, and then we get defensive by dismissing others with unfair judgments. We fill our ego with self-righteous praise for ourselves while looking down on others. We admire our sacrifice, that is, our keeping of religious traditions and everything we do for God, all the while forgetting mercy, compassion to others, repentance, and forgiveness for their sins and ours. Jesus redirects us, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick … For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” That statement of Jesus isn’t meant only to straighten us out, but to save us, because we are the sick and the sinner. However, according to his own words, if there’s anything you’ll find in Jesus it is mercy. You don’t need to have it all together for Jesus to call your name. If there’s anything else you’ll find in Jesus it is meaning. You have unique gifts and personality, and Jesus has a use for you in his kingdom – warts and all. Jesus calls sinners. Like Moses and Paul, both of whom were murderers. He calls sinners, like Matthew and me and you.

            When you get frustrated with your performance as a Christian, or you wonder what your purpose in life is all about, Follow Jesus to Job Satisfaction. You are not anonymous to Jesus or to heaven itself. Your unique gifts and personality make you able to do what many other people can’t, and also assure you that you don’t have to do it all. Your contribution to the kingdom of God makes a difference for other people and to Jesus. You can be an usher or Sunday School teacher or coffee shop barista or building host, but following Jesus isn’t limited to a church campus. Just be yourself wherever you go, following Jesus and using your gifts – your creativity, your generosity, your humor, your loyalty, your ability to talk to people, to help people, to make numbers compute or machines work or designs look good. Give that to Jesus and his mission and he’ll find a way for you to serve him, just like Matthew.

            One survey revealed that 7 of the top 10 most gratifying jobs included pastors, firefighters, and then various kinds of teachers or therapists. The common denominator in these jobs is caring for people. Since that’s the case, Jesus must really love his job because he cares about you and me and all sinners. Better yet, he calls us to serve him by caring for others. So the next time someone asks you, “What do you do?” and you think about replying, “I’m an accountant,” or “I’m a financial rep,” maybe you could say to that person, “I’m a follower of Jesus.” Then again, maybe they don’t even need to ask. Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on January 13, 2008

Services

Sundays 7:45, 9:00 & 10:30 am

Mondays 6:30 pm

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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