The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
The Sunday just before Ascension Day was traditionally known as Rogation
Sunday. The name comes from the Latin word, rogare, which
translates to we beseech or we pray. Back in the
days when most of the lands, both in Europe and America, were devoted to
agriculture, it was the custom to use these four days before Ascension Day in
praying for God's blessings upon the crops that were just being sown, upon the
flocks and herds that were just now experiencing the births of baby calves,
lambs and other animals, and on the fishing boats that were now setting out for
a season's work, after the long icebound winter. The parish priest and the
crucifier would progress around the farms and fishing docks of the parish,
followed by whatever farm workers, fishermen and other parishioners were in
attendance, sprinkling the fields and flocks, the boats and farm equipment, with
holy water, while intoning the long Litany of the Saints or the Great Litany
from the old Prayer Book, with its response after every intercession:
rogare te, we beseech you to hear us. This tradition, like many others
centered on agriculture and working with nature, has died out, but our modern
Prayer Book still gives special collects for agriculture, factories and workers
for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Rogation Week. Still, it is not a bad idea
to remember that at the bottom line, our lives are dependent upon God's
blessing, and to ask his blessing upon our daily life and work.
One kind of work that most people do not think much about is God's work.
God's work did not end with the Creation; it still goes on, every minute of
every day. Over and over again, in the Bible, we read about God's calling of
someone to do his work, preach the Good News, serve the people, or carry God's
special message about a specific situation to someone or to some group of
people. Of course, God calls all of us at one time or another: He calls us to
belief, and then to Baptism and Confirmation; he calls us to specific states of
life, such as marriage, religious life or the ordained ministry; many doctors,
nurses, teachers, artists and others could tell you how they became aware of
God's calling to do what they now do, and how urgent and powerful that call can
be.
Sometimes the call is barely noticeable, and we hardly know why we have begun
doing what we are doing...becoming parents, becoming the person that the
neighbors come to for help or counsel, becoming so convinced of the need for
some kind of ministry that we cannot possibly do anything else with our lives.
Sometimes, the call is discovered in the expectations of one's family that of
course the oldest child will become a doctor or a lawyer. Sometimes the call
is an outgrowth of our own personality or preferences or nature, and we end up
being a farmer or a forest ranger or a social worker, a contemplative nun or an
artist. All of these are true calls from God, and none is more or less important
than another. The way God calls to each of us is as individual as we are, but
whatever work we are called to do in God's name, whether it be raising children
or raising crops, doing brain surgery or praying for the welfare of the world,
is a holy call and one that we should daily ask God's blessing upon as we begin
our work for the day.
One of the interesting things about God's call to people to do his work is
the sense of urgency that often (but not always) accompanies the call. We recall
that Jesus spoke to the fishermen who were cleaning their nets: Come,
follow me. They immediately left their boats and nets and followed
Jesus. Saul's vision on the road to Damascus struck him, blinded, to the ground,
but there was no question about it: it was a 180-degree change in his life, a
true repentance, a true change of direction. No more would he be
an agent of the Pharisees, hunting down and imprisoning Jews who had become
Christ-followers; immediately, he knew that he must become a Christian, be
baptized, and preach Christ to the world. Isaiah and Jeremiah experienced
life-changing visions, dropped everything, and became God's spokesmen to kings
and high priests, and to God's people. Moses, peacefully watching his
father-in-law's flock of sheep, noticed a burning bush and found himself arguing
with God. God had decided that Moses was the one to lead the Jews out of slavery
in Egypt, and Moses kept saying that no, he couldn't possibly do that, he wasn't
able. God, of course, won the argument! Paul, as Luke tells us in Acts, had a
dream of preaching the Gospel in Macedonia, and immediately they set out for
that area. The urgency that God often makes a part of his call to us will not be
denied. For some of us, once we find out, by whatever means, what God wants us
to do, we go gung-ho after it, beginning the necessary preparations, no matter
how long and hard they may be, champing at the bit to begin God's work. Nothing
will discourage us...we simply know that we must do it!
For others, the call comes gradually and almost without being noticeable. A
family tradition of medicine, law or teaching, military service or farming or
commercial fishing, makes it seem almost impossible that we could ever do
anything else. Many women used to be raised with the clear knowledge that they
would grow up to be wives and mothers, and there was never any other possibility
in their minds. Some of us wander about the world, clueless and unsettled, for
years before we know what it is that we simply must do.
But no matter how we become aware of God's call...no matter if we are struck
down by a vision or suddenly discover a calling we never thought about, no
matter if we grow gradually into a calling or are practically born into a family
calling...we are all called to do God's work in one way or another. The one
thing we can all be sure of is that God never calls anyone to simply sit and be
idle and indulge themselves. We are all put on earth for a purpose, and while
there's nothing wrong with relaxing at the end of a day's work, or taking a
hard-earned vacation every now and then, God has work for each of us to do, and
the one thing we can be sure of is that, sooner or later, we will find out what
God means us to do in this life, to be his hands and his heart here in a world
full of need.
Amen.
