Good morning!  How’s it going this morning?  I’d like all the artists among us to raise their hands!  Musicians, writers, painters? That’s good. Anyone who doesn’t consider themselves an artist, raise your hand. I see. I hope in the next few minutes to change your mind about that.

 

Would you agree that art is about creativity?  The Bible begins with these words, “In the beginning, God created…”   Did you know that creativity is one of the primary attributes of God? Right along with omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, holiness, immutability.

 

Listen carefully to these words from Gen 2:2-3. “By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Gen 2:2-3

 

Does God work?  Obviously!  Do creativity and work go together? Absolutely! One day Jesus healed a disabled man at the pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. The religious leaders were fuming because he re-created this man’s life on the Sabbath. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”  John 5:17

What kind of work does God do? God creates - he calls things into being out of nothing. He heals, provides, directs, organizes, maintains, teaches, rescues, redeems, judges, condemns, punishes, loves. Is love work? You bet. Is love creative? You bet!

 

So how do we as human beings fit into this work thing?  “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Gen 2:15   Part of being made in the image of God is the honor, the privilege of creative work.  Work links us and makes us a partner with God in His creative work. We were created to be stewards at work creatively tending God’s Garden.

 

One of my favorite folk songs was written by David Mallet. It’s called the Garden Song and I’ve found myself singing it shoveling rocks, writing sermons, doing the dishes, caring for folks.  It goes like this.

 

Nice song, but I have to admit, work I doesn’t always feel that way. Sometimes I’m tempted to fall into self-pity. I remember shoveling out the coal truck when I was a kid. It was my job to shovel out those 6 yards of coal before I came in for supper. I’d think, I’m going to die out here and nobody will care. They’ll find my stiff frozen body in the morning, then they’ll be sorry!  If work was created to be a holy, artistic, fulfilling partnership with God, why is often so hard?

 

The first thing we need to realize is that work, in itself is not punishment for the fall.  God told Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you… by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground. Gen 3:17-19

The honor of serving God and participating in his work remained the same, what changed is that now we were at war against the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. The creative work of caring for the earth and serving each other and God in joy and creativity, work became a battle to survive against weather and weeds and wars.

 

Work is still a holy calling, but like everything else, it’s become twisted by sin.  Rather than work with each other, we work against each other. Employers oppress employees; employees cheat and steal from their employers. Rather than being stewards and caretakers of creation, we plunder and abuse it for our own selfish purposes.

 

So how do we get back on track?  As Christians, we go back to the Bible. “Let us create man in our image”.  The image of God refers to more than intelligence and creativity, it refers to the trinitarian nature of our relationships.  Husband, wife, God.  Father, mother, child.

 

We see this same model in Creator, Steward, creation.  Owner, manager, assets.  We see it in supervisor, worker, task. Employer, employee, job.

 

What if we saw our roles in the work we do in the same way the Trinity sees themselves in the work of God?  How might it change our attitudes, our cooperation as employers, employees, parents, children?   

 

What if we viewed our work with the same enthusiastic creativity as we see in the God’s creation of the universe?  What if rather than seeing ourselves as victims of work, we saw work as art?  A creative calling from God?  In our Gospel today Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest field.”  Mt 9:37-38.

How often do we feel the work we do is going through the motions, working ourselves to the bone, yet accomplishing nothing of eternal significance? Is it possible to work ourselves to death and just be wasting time? How can we know if the work we are doing matters for eternity?  Let me make some suggestions…

 

 

 

In the coming week, I want you to consider the work you do as art. Imagine yourself, creating something new each day in the same way God did on each day of creation. You were created in his image. In the creation story, each day presented a new challenge, a new opportunity for creative labor - each evening, a time to rest to anticipate a new day of working, creating. At the end of 6 days, a day of rest to look back and rejoice at what had been accomplished.

 

Whether it’s raising kids, or digging ditches, teaching Sunday School or washing clothes, selling insurance or pulling a train, being a student or being retired, praying for others, or sharing what you have earned with others.  You have been called to work, to create, to be a steward of that particular niche of creation over which God has given you responsibility.  

 

Johann Sebastian Bach was one of the most creative geniuses who ever lived. There was a time in his life when he was required to write a new piece of music for the prince’s chapel service every week along with all the other responsibilities he had. I can’t image how hard he worked. How did he keep from burning out?  I don’t know! But we have a hint.  At the end of every one of his creative labors he wrote 3 letters, SDG.  Soli Deo Gloria “To God be the Glory!”

 

What if we were to approach all our labors in the same way?  What if we were to see every task as composing a song to the glory of God!  And at the end of each day we would sign off – SDG!  “To God be the Glory!” 

 

You were created in the image of God - that means you are an artist.  Each day task is the palate on which your creative genius will express itself. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Let me ask you again, “How many artists do we have among us this morning?”  To God be the Glory! 

 

AMEN