The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains a list of recognized job descriptions, and that list has been undergoing a lot of change in recent years. Some jobs have disappeared entirely. There is little call for lamplighters and ice cutters today, and those jobs actually disappeared long ago. More recently threatened jobs include telephone operators and typewriter repairmen. They will soon join lamplighters and ice cutters on the list of jobs that exist no longer.
Just about anyone watching the job market knows that very few jobs or professions can be taken for granted. Many will disappear, others will wax and wane. Technology accounts for some of these losses, but others are lost simply because no one any longer sees a need to employ a person for such a purpose.
With all that in mind, we arrive today at a ceremony of commencement. We are not here by accident or happenstance. We have gathered to celebrate the awarding of degrees and the completion of degree programs and to set loose a new generation of Christian ministers, ready for deployment to God’s glory. They sure look impressive in their academic regalia. They are unusually bright, fervently committed, and well prepared.
But, what job will they fulfill? What calling demanded the years of preparation, study, labor, and learning that these degrees imply?
To answer that question, look with me to the last chapter of the Gospel of John.... Read more
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