Sunday, November 16, 2025

What do you do? It is often a question we ask of a new acquaintance as we are getting to know them. We ask this question because what we do for work is so tied up in who we are. But we are far more than just the sum total of the things we do during the work day. This is where Luther’s teaching on vocation becomes so helpful for us, and really helps us understand the world in which we live. For Luther our jobs were not limited to the work we do to earn money. Instead, Luther taught that we have all been given jobs by God, sacred callings that cross over into many areas of life.

Some examples of these vocations include being a mother or a father, a son or a daughter, a neighbor, or a community member. We have been placed into these vocations by God to do real, important work which serves God even as it serves those around us.

This also changes how we work, no matter where it is or what it is. We see all that we do ultimately as an expression of worship in that we are doing what God has called us to do. For some this may mean serving God as a christian mother, for others it is working long hours in the trades, and still for others it is caring for grandchildren and volunteering in our church or in the community.

We sometimes see our jobs as separate from the rest of our life and for that matter we can see the work we may do in church as separate from everything else we do. But really work, vocation, jobs, these are all tied up in our identity as christians.