Daily Worship

Wurlitzer Woes

Jo Penn September 01, 2022 0 2
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Listen to this daily worship

2 Thessalonians 3: 10-12 (NRSVA)

10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

The machine clicked on, water began to whoosh… and stopped suddenly. My garments were left drily stationary, not swept into a Wurlitzer dance, waiting out the background percussion solo until the cycle’s ERROR message flashed up.

‘Great!’ I thought when faced with a load of sodden socks, trousers and t-shirts locked away until the machine chose to set them free.

Yet, my inner voice challenged me to take a stance of thankfulness rather than complaint: the washing machine was a gift to the flat; it had provided me with many clean and spun garments; I had not given so much as a sigh of gratitude that this task had been done for me at the push of a button.

When the door released, I slopped my laundry to the bathroom and began washing it by hand, twisting and folding, trying to squeeze out excess water before taking it outside to dry in the summer heat.

As I hand-washed the load, I made the connection with my mother and her twin-tub, doing laundry for three children under the age of two; and with my grandmother with her weekly wash day and her garden-sited mangle.

Clothes washing does not take up much of my time, so much less than for many down the centuries. I was glad to be reminded of the importance of these tasks to root me in the physical world.

 

PRAYER:

 

Jesus, you

worked with your hands alongside Joseph,

learned a practical trade;

were part of a team, doing your bit on the build;

brought in wages to help your family live;

cooked fish and gave bread so people could eat;

foresaw a fishy four drachma to pay Temple Taxes.

You know the pressures of tasks and the bills.

 

Jesus, we

work with our hands in ordinary tasks,

learn our own trades,

are part of a team, doing our bit for the whole;

bring in wages to help our family live.

cook, provide bread, so that others can eat;

also have taxes to pay.

 

In the pressures of life:

Help us to give thanks for your generous gifts.

Cultivate our hearts to give generously to others.