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OFFICE AIDE

I was fortunate (or unfortunate) when I was in school to get to be an "office aid" in middle and high school.

This took the place of a class during the day and you would help the office sign in late students, making copies, stapling packets, etc.

Most of the time it was just hanging out, studying, or doing homework, however, occasionally we were sent out of the office on a mission - to get this or that person.

We never just went into classrooms to see people/say hi - we were constantly sent into classrooms with the purpose of doing something.

There is something similar going on in Matthew 20:2.

MATTHEW 20:2

Jesus has just started a parable and notes that 1.) the owner of a vineyard goes out to recruit workers and then 2.) agrees to pay them a fair day rate. After this the text doesn't say that the workers "went" out to start working - as if they were wandering around. Instead, the text says the owner of the vineyard "sent" them out:

2 He agreed to pay them a denarius[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

The idea of being sent by the owner carries with it a sense of purpose, intentionality, and purpose.

SENT TO WORK

This has modern-day implications.

It implies that God is actively sending us into our workplaces - whether that is the marketplace or the homebase - God is sending us.

  • To provide goods and services that enrich people's lives.
  • To create spaces that are welcoming to folks.
  • To be salt and light to bosses, co-workers, employees, customers, and neighbors.
  • Etc.

Work is not a thing that just kind of has to happen so we can get along with the more "fun" work of play or the more "important" work of piety.

Our work is a deeply sacred place, of deep play, and robust piety.

At the beginning of each day, we can say that we are being "sent" into the workplace.