What are we building
Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain (Psalm 127:1)
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love” (Mother Teresa). In a world obsessed with power and fame, Mother Teresa underscored the true value of simple, everyday actions.
In 1671, Christopher Wren observed three bricklayers on a scaffold, one crouched, one half-standing and one standing tall and working very hard. Wren asked the question, “What are you doing?”
The first bricklayer replied, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard to feed my family.” The second bricklayer responded, “I’m building a wall.” But the third brick layer, the fastest worker of the three, said, “I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.”
This story illustrates the power of purpose; the difference between a job, an occupation and a calling. A calling reflects a deeper relationship to the meaning of life.
In my life I can see times when I was a bricklayer – working the hours for pay, building a service station on 22nd Street and Witney Avenue in Saskatoon. And I can see when I was doing a job, filling an occupation that formed a teaching career. And I can see when I am following a calling, building a cathedral.
We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life. It’s up to us to make it good or bad. It’s never too late to become the person you are meant to be. “To let what God has given you come out,” said American Idol judge Luke Bryan.
We have all been “waiting for this moment to arrive,” as Paul McCartney sings in “Blackbird.” Sometimes we struggle to fly with broken wings. But we have the light that guides us in the dead of night.
In his book The Meaning of Life Victor Frankel wrote about how some people survived the holocaust because they had a purpose to live. They found meaning in caring for and helping others through a horrible experience.
What are we building? The story of the three bricklayers can be used to illustrate our responsibility to search for meaning, to find the help and support we need in pursuing and building our “cathedral.”
We are uniquely created by God for a specific purpose at a particular time in history. Church leaders wrestle with the question how do we move people from where they are to cathedral builders? How do we help people discover their God given purpose?
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry.”
Immanuel Kant believed that moral worth lies in the intention behind the act, not in the results. If you do something out of duty and goodwill—even if the outcome isn’t perfect—it still holds moral value. This connects strongly with Mother Teresa’s message.
Many small acts, done with care, can add up to a major impact on collective happiness.
What really changed the world today? I mean the whole world as we know it? Debates in the United Nations? A speech by a Prime Minister? Or the little acts of love and service done by ordinary people in the humble setting of a home or office?
Are we still waiting for this moment to arise? Christ continues to work in us to build our cathedral.
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