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Martin Luther is remembered for his many theological developments, and one dear to my heart is his principle of vocation. A principle which he widened from just describing a divine call to being clergy, but rather to the call for service that every Christian feels.
Luther was the first theologian credited for writing in depth about how every faithful person receives a divine call to vocation, or rather ordinary, every day service to their neighbor.
I receive affirmation of this principle watching the people who work in our faith-based organization that feeds, shelters and houses more than 500 neighbors every day.
Trust me, I can attest to the fact that it isn't the hours, the pay or the simplicity of what we do that keeps them showing up each day. No, the work they do is too demanding for anyone to think they could perform it for long if there wasn't a divine explanation. Their devotion comes from a pull much more intimate that keeps the team coming back day after day when the odds are so stacked against them.
So yes, you can say that I am an admirer of the principle of vocation.
Someone I love recently began working with a medical specialist after agonizingly being ignored, humiliated and belittled by the medical profession at large for years. But through a journey that could only have been Holy Spirit driven, my loved one found a doctor who listens, who wants something more for their quality of life and who understands his role as a doctor as ... you guessed it ... a "calling."
Sitting in his office recently, I asked him about his journey, and he was gracious enough to share how he found his way to his medical specialty. As he talked about the influence his faith had, and also the role God played, my spine tingled.
And yes, I cried a bit too. ... Not only because his faith story was so compelling and inspiring, but also because of the hope that he symbolizes for someone I love.
If you haven't gleaned so from the years I've been writing, I love being a pastor. I love sharing my call story, and how it took me four decades to find my way here to this moment and this particular expression of my call.
But I also know that the first 30 years that I spent as a journalist was a call too. That preparation taught me so many skills and developed so many talents, that I wouldn't be here now without that call.
Thank you, friends, for whatever call you've answered, or that you're considering. Please remember, that as Martin Luther has taught us, all honest work holds equal moral and spiritual dignity. Amen.
Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.