Bible reading
God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order … Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” (Genesis 2: 15 - 23)
Meditation
Previously we have thought about this passage in terms of work as being about naming the good and the possible and then work as being done in collaboration with God, each other and with the creation. In this final reflection on this passage we look at work as being about our own self-understanding or comprehension.
The philosopher Paul Ricoeur is helpful here as he suggests that “in determining to do something, I likewise determine myself: “In the same way that a project opens up possibilities in the world, it opens up new possibilities in myself and reveals me to myself as a possibility of acting. My power-to-be manifests itself in my power-to-do …” The “possible” is therefore an essential component in self-understanding. I achieve self-understanding when I grasp what possibilities are open to me." (Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Biblical Narrative in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur)
Work is intended to develop our understanding of ourselves because, as we name what is good and what is possible, we also develop our understanding of ourselves. A part of the task undertaken together by Adam and God was to identify a suitable helper for Adam. As Adam named the good and imagined possibilities for each creature that God brought to him, he was also coming to an understanding of his needs as a human being and rejecting each creature in turn as a suitable helper for him. Therefore, when God created Eve, Adam had the necessary self-understanding to recognise Eve immediately as the partner for which he had been seeking. Work is intended to be a place in which we grow in our understanding and comprehension of ourselves.
Alan Briskin tells the story of Andy in his book ‘The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace’. When a reengineering was announced in his organization, Andy welcomed the opportunity for himself and his organization, which he saw as too insular and too reluctant to change. He was one of the few administrators among his peers who had not been terminated during the reorganization but his CEO then mentioned that Andy Andy didn’t seem to be managing the transition very well. He seemed moody and not handling change in a particularly positive manner. For Andy, this meeting led to a period of deep reflection. He saw a different picture of himself emerging where even his supposed strength at coolly analyzing situations was at times also an urgent attempt to distance emotions. He described this new awareness of himself as revitalizing, as if he were a diver discovering new treasures beneath the surface of his previous awareness. What he found so revitalizing was not the discoveries themselves, but the depth of self that he had not known was waiting there for him. Andy began to express a new kind of confidence, though tentatively. A curtain had been pulled back, revealing his past and hinting at a new possibility for his future; options existed where before there had been linear direction. The CEO’s hurtful feedback triggered a personal journey that might not have happened if all had gone well.
Prayer
God of all knowledge and all care, enable us to view our work as a place in which we grow in our understanding and comprehension of ourselves. As our work tasks and projects open up new possibilities in the world, so they also open up new possibilities in ourselves. We achieve self-understanding when we grasp what possibilities are open to us.
May our work tasks prompt reflection and lead us into deeper understanding of ourselves.
Take us on personal journeys in which we discover new treasures beneath the surface of our previous awareness. Revealing our past, hint at new possibilities for our futures and thereby enable to express a new kind of confidence in the present.
May our work tasks prompt reflection and lead us into deeper understanding of ourselves.
We think of all who face hurtful feedback or difficult transitions at this time praying that these experiences can be turned to the good by using them as triggers for personal journeys that might not have happened if all had gone well.
May our work tasks prompt reflection and lead us into deeper understanding of ourselves.
Blessing
Expressing a new kind of confidence, discovering new treasures beneath the surface of our previous awareness, turning hurtful experiences to the good, achieving self-understanding. May those blessing of God almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon us and remain with us always. Amen.
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Hildegard von Bingen - Ave Generosa.
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