3/21/24
Last week we looked at the distinction between Law and Gospel. A second important distinction is our understanding of the doctrine of vocation. I really don't think any other theological discipline has considered vocation in the same way Lutherans have.
Rome and Orthodoxy talk about vocation in terms of serving as a priest, a monk, a nun, or perhaps some part of a diaconate. They are focused on what we might call "churchly" callings. In contrast to that view, Luther said everyone has vocation. God calls all of his people in some way. In fact, God has several callings on your life.
Some of the callings we have are permanent. For instance, though my parents have both died, I am still called to be a son to them. That's part of my identity. To this day, in one way or another, there are some ways in which my vocation as a son influences what I do, who and what I pay attention to, and the like. I have a primary vocation as a man, which, I suppose, is permanent, though for some time I was not a mature man as yet.
Do you get the idea that vocation is very similar to what most of our culture would call identity? This is also the case in our temporary vocations. One of those which pertains to me is my calling to be a husband. Temporary? Yes, I wasn't a husband until I was in my twenties. A temporary vocation may be a career, being a student, serving in a political office, or, for that matter, being a member of the bowling league or garden club.
Some of our vocations don't seem very important until we begin considering them as gifts which God has given us. Simply the fact that the Lord has given me something to do ought to motivate me to consider it important. By the nature of its source, every vocation has its own value and dignity.
So while church workers are called by God, so are parents, children, husbands, wives, employers, employees, students, mentors, citizens, and everything else that we do with a clear conscience before God. There is no legitimate role in your life that is not intended to bring honor to God in Christ.
A Lutheran view of vocation gives dignity and purpose to our life. The man who takes out the trash at a restaurant is loving and serving his neighbor by being diligent and doing the job right. The CEO of the Fortune 500 company is doing a job with the same dignity, the same purpose, and the same kind of value, except it probably influences a larger number of people. The parent changing a baby's diaper is loving and serving a neighbor. So is the professor giving a lecture to an overcrowded lecture hall. We don't look at the glamor and glitz of what we are doing to find its value. We look at the Lord Jesus who worked and gave work to us.
For further reading, you may find Gustaf Wingren's book Luther on Vocation helpful. Another author who has said a lot about vocation is Gene Edward Veith. A good place to start in his writings is God at Work.