Issue 228
When you look at the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth there are huge and powerful lessons that you can take into your daily life and working week. Great feasts of teaching satisfy our need for learning and endless examples inspire us to aim at his pathway.
But sometimes there are glimpses, tiny moments and little insights which can be so easily missed, yet contain profound truths upon which we can reflect. These moments creep up on us as we read his story and stop us in our tracks if we let them.
Regular readers of Wake up Call will know that our underlying theology of work is that Jesus, in his work, has shown us how to do ours. This is particularly true in relation to his work on the cross and forms the basis of the WorkTalk course. So notice the incident right at the moment of arrival at the skull shaped hill. He was offered a wine and myrrh cocktail and refused it. Pious and kind women in Jerusalem offered a criminal such a drink prior to crucifixion in order to ease the pain. But Jesus would not drink. It’s a moment that may have lasted less than 20 seconds but it tells us something and we should listen.
Jesus was about to do the work he was born to do. He was starting his work of works – his biggest and most important project. That this was a death should not blind us to the fact that it was also work. He was not going to drink before this task. He was not going to use drugs and alcohol to dull the pain nor get him through. For this task he wanted and needed a clear head and an alert mind. This, of course, was a far more painful approach, but the Son of God was not going to risk failure or mistakes by clouding his mind.
Many Christians, around Lent, reflect on their relationship to alcohol and drugs. Some abstain from wine or beer during Lent, others drop caffeine or chocolate (which is the equivalent). It can be an interesting experience and reminds some of how much they use such aids to make it through the day.
Jesus was not teetotal. He drank wine with his friends and was accused by religious authorities of drinking too much. He provided wine for a stressed out caterer who had run out of stock (another workplace miracle by the way). He had passed wine around at the Last Supper. So his refusal at the cross was not a moral stance it was a task-driven necessity. He would not drink at this point because he had a job to do. Six hours later just as he is finishing his work he admits to thirst, is offered wine vinegar and drinks it. He needs this drink in order to shout out his last words of completion. The drink is now not a drug which will dull his senses but a lubricant to clear His voice.
I know there are all kinds of questions raised about the nature of the drinks and the interpretation of events but anyone in today’s world knows that there is a complex relationship between stress, pressure, alcohol and work. More and more workers turn to drink to help them dull the pain and ease the stress – maybe you do.
From the foot of the cross you can see a man who used drink for his purposes and controlled it for his ends. He used it to bless a wedding and rescue a caterer. He used it to accompany pleasure and quench thirst. He refused to use it to dull his senses and avoid the pain of his work. He is in control of alcohol and not vice versa. Some of His followers choose to abstain altogether, while others do not, and both choices are valid. The Son died to set us free, and the Spirit comes to set us free to choose to work, to drink, to abstain but most of all to follow the Man who is the way to work.
Here’s to the King.
Mark 15:21-24
21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
John 19:28-30
28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
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Work well
Geoff Shattock
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