Ordinary Vocation: Returning to the Flocks
As we pick back up at school this week, it is a good reminder to us regarding the dignity and importance of what we return to.
W. H. Auden, in his Christmas Oratorio, reflects on the reality of the Incarnation from a modern perspective. He ends the long contemplation with:
Well, so that is that. Now we must
Dismantle the tree,
Putting decorations back into their
Cardboard boxes—
Some have got broken-and carrying
Them up to the attic.
The holly and the mistletoe must be
Taken down and burnt,
And the children got ready for school.
Reflecting on the aftermath of Christmas, he continues:
In the meantime
There are bills to be paid, machines to
keep in repair,
Irregular verbs to learn, the Time Being
To redeem
From insignificance…
Martin Luther, in a Christmas sermon, once commented on the visit of the shepherds to the manger. He reflects on the life-changing gift they received while tending to their flocks, the angels directing them to Bethlehem where Christ the Savior was born. But Luther is particularly struck by the verse that concludes that story, “the shepherds returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen.” Luther was dumbfounded. “They returned to their flocks?!?” How could anyone, witnessing the life-changing reality of the Incarnation, simply return to the everyday world of their vocation?
Yet that is what these men did. They stood in front of God in the flesh, the long-awaited Savior of Israel and the world, and yet they returned to the mundane work that God had called them to. They returned changed, however. A couple of days prior, no doubt, they loved God and desired to serve Him with their lives. But now, having witnessed the incredible covenant faithfulness of their God, they returned glorifying and praising Him as they never had before. Shepherding could never be the same again now that they had encountered the Good Shepherd Himself.
We too have contemplated and celebrated the incarnate Deity. We have enjoyed the feasting and fellowship that comes with that celebration, and now, having returned to our classrooms, schedules, and responsibilities, we continue in the work that God has called us to do. Let us return, but let us return glorifying God and praising Him. That is to say, let us not return unchanged for having seen what we have seen. Teaching students the truth can never be the same now that we have seen the Truth incarnate. Christmas may be over, but the joyful application of the truth we have beheld has just begun. Let us return, redeeming the time from insignificance because of what God has done for the world in Christ.
As we move forward into the remainder of the school year, I am grateful for our students, our families, and our faculty and staff, and I am excited to continue our shared work in the service of our incarnate God and King. May the Lord bless our return.
Bill Spanjer serves as Head of Schools and Chairman of the History Department at Chapel Field.
