Christian Vocation: James Fullton, architect

Good morning. I have some good news and I have some bad news. I'll start with the bad news.

If you love your work and enjoy your work days, if you find your work satisfying and rewarding,

if in the words of Frederick Buechner you feel that in your work you found the place where your

deep gladness and the world's deep hunger have met, well then what I'm about to say may feel

like a bit like a wet blanket. However, if your work's hard and you find it frustrating,

if you lack confidence at work and question whether you even have the skills to perform,

if you are frustrated by bureaucracy and you have a hard time getting out of bed because your work

just doesn't seem to matter, well then the same message may feel like a cool wet cloth on your

tired sweaty brow. Before we get there though, let me back up and tell you a bit about myself and my

work. My name is James Fulton and I live in New Haven with my wife Kim and our five children,

four of whom we adopted from Brazil in 2009 and one who was born in 2012. We've been at Trinity since

2005. After some initial interest in being either a marine biologist or a commercial airline pilot,

I started homing in on architecture during my middle school years. At the time, a friend of mine

had a few architecture related books, a National Geographic book about large engineered structures

such as bridges and dams, and a few Frank Lloyd Wright books. I would often peruse these books on my visits

to his house and by high school I was fairly certain I would go on to study architecture and I took some

drafting and residential design electives to test the waters. After high school, I studied architecture at

Georgia Tech where I received a Bachelor of Science in 2002, married my high school sweetheart the next

weekend, and moved with her that summer to New Haven to pursue a master's degree from the Yale School

of Architecture. Two years into my three-year program, I interned at Picard Chilton, a mid-sized architecture

firm on Chapel Street across from the Green, and when during my last year of grad school they offered

me full-time employment upon graduation, Kim and I decided to settle in New Haven. I accepted the job offer

and we bought our first house. I worked at Picard Chilton for about eight years before moving to Yale

University where I have been working in the facilities planning and construction department for about six

and a half years. Whereas before I was the architect, now I hire the architect and am responsible for

representing the university's various interests including financial and programmatic while balancing a

complex web of competing desires from various constituencies across the university. My job is to synthesize these wants and

needs into a clear direction for the architects and their design teams during the design process and to make sure their

designs fit our requirements. There are others in my same or similar position and together with our colleagues on the

construction side of things, we touch hundreds of millions of dollars of capital projects each year. When Pastor Greg reached out to me about

speaking to this class, I was initially hesitant, but I told him I'd meet him for lunch before saying no out of hand.

At lunch, I elaborated on my hesitancy. I've been feeling unmotivated at work lately and I don't feel I'd have anything to offer the group.

Work has been so frustrating lately and some menial tasks have been sucking up the time I'm generally able to spend on the larger projects in my portfolio about which I feel more confident.

The bureaucracy of my position is feeling oppressive lately and I feel like I'm stuck doing things of little consequence.

Well, James, he said matter-of-factly, it sounds like you could speak to us about Ecclesiastes.

That's right.

I'm not sure whether Pastor Greg knew this before we met, but having just led my small group through Ecclesiastes within the last year,

I found myself suddenly fresh out of convincing reasons to say no.

And so here I am in front of you speaking to myself as much as I am to you this morning.

Any questions before we move on?

All right.

Ecclesiastes 2, 13 and 14 says,

Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness.

The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness, and yet I perceive that the same event happens to all of them.

I have put around some papers that have all the references, so I hope you've found those.

As I'm slowly discovering along my Christian walk, we often have lots of unfair preconceptions about books of the Bible until we read them, study them, and meditate on them firsthand.

The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes was certainly a book that had a particular reputation in my mind.

Perhaps, as I did, you imagine Ecclesiastes to be pessimistic, even hopeless at worst, or at least melancholy at best.

At first blush, Ecclesiastes is certainly a bit of a downer, what with all that meaninglessness that's announced here, there, and everywhere.

However, in a short time of reading and reflection, the hints of unmatched beauty in its poetic prose shine through as it pursues its almost singular point,

and one notices a richness they might otherwise miss by simply pulling tweet-length verses out of context.

And if your only experience with Ecclesiastes is the Byrd's 1965 folk hit and anti-war ballad, Turn, Turn, Turn,

well, then you're missing a huge opportunity to wrap yourself in the sober comforts of this book.

Ecclesiastes shows us a lifetime of wisdom from an individual known in Hebrew as Kohelet.

Often translated as preacher or teacher in English, Kohelet refers to an individual who speaks at a gathered assembly or congregation.

Kohelet is a wise, Solomon-like individual and has been traditionally identified as King Solomon.

I mention Kohelet's wisdom here, and so it's important to place Ecclesiastes in the broader context of its genre,

namely Hebrew wisdom literature, which also includes Proverbs and Job.

In fact, these three books, in the order Proverbs, then Ecclesiastes, and finally Job,

provide a bit of a narrative arc and work together to present us with a nuanced and well-rounded overview of biblical wisdom

that we might miss by looking at one book alone.

Charles Spurgeon said,

Knowledge may be dangerous if unaccompanied with wisdom, which is the art of rightly using what we know.

Knowing the content of these three books, then, could be considered knowledge.

Knowing how to balance them is wisdom.

As the pastors described so well in last year's sermon series,

Proverbs provides a sort of practical template for what it might look like to live a God-pleasing life.

In the world of Proverbs, the wise seem to be rewarded for adherence to God's instruction,

while the foolish, who carelessly ignore or blatantly reject wise living, tend to get their comeuppance.

But lest we forget that Proverbs is a book of Proverbs and not promises,

Ecclesiastes comes along, shakes its head, and says,

Yeah, about that, I hate to break it to you, but it doesn't always work that way.

The verse I read just a few minutes ago is indicative of this overarching theme.

In numerous places throughout Ecclesiastes,

Kohelet notes the value of the wise individual over the fool,

but he also matter-of-factly acknowledges the apparent disconnect

that often the same thing happens to both,

or even the opposite of what we might imagine should occur happens to each.

When Hugh Hefner died last year at age 91,

I was amazed by all the celebrity endorsements and flattering obituaries.

I just couldn't imagine, especially in the Me Too age,

that men and women alike were fawning over man,

who built an empire and an industry that diminishes the God-designed beauty

of sexual relationships by treating women like sex toys and men like base consumers.

But then Ecclesiastes 7.15 came to mind

and made some sense of the madness, at least observationally.

In my vain life I have seen everything.

There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness,

and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing.

It is Ecclesiastes, then, that starts to tease out what happens

when the neat and tidy edges of proverbial wisdom blur

and the ends of our lived experience under the sun begin to fray.

Rounding out this long arc of biblical wisdom,

started by Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,

Job comes along and, well, all bets are off

when we meet unimaginable suffering

and lose sight of everything we thought we knew about ourselves,

our relationship to God,

and what it means to live a good life.

But that's a whole other story.

As with the other wisdom books,

Ecclesiastes is heavily observation-based.

Oftentimes, Kohelet is not saying

whether particular situations are good or bad,

but simply that they occur,

and we have to come to grips with them

as we live a life bracketed by extremes.

This is a fair reading, for instance,

of Ecclesiastes 3, 1 through 8,

the famous turn, turn, turn verses,

where the world described

has us inhabiting the broad spectrum

between birth and death,

planting and reaping,

weeping and laughing,

loving and hating.

Does anybody have any questions so far?

Okay.

There'll be time at the end, too.

All right.

Ecclesiastes 1, 2 and 3.

Vanity of vanities, says the preacher,

vanity of vanities.

All is vanity.

What does man gain by all the toil

at which he toils under the sun?

English author Anthony Burgess said,

Translation is not a matter of words only.

It is a matter of making intelligible

a whole culture.

Any study of Ecclesiastes requires

careful consideration of one word,

which, if understood poorly from its translation,

risks skewing our understanding of the text.

Understood correctly and with nuance,

however, this word,

which is used 38 times

in 12 short chapters,

will help us notice

the message of Ecclesiastes better

than if we went by the face value

of the word in the translation

we happen to be reading at the time.

I'm going to ask you to open your Bibles

to Ecclesiastes, chapter 1.

Ecclesiastes 1 · chapter mention

So I'm wondering,

in verse 2 of chapter 1,

how many people have meaningless

in their translation?

Okay.

Anybody else have meaningless

in their translation?

Okay.

A few.

All right.

So as an example,

meaningless,

this is how the New International Version

and the New Living Translation

translate the word

we're going to be talking about.

How many people have vanity

in their translation?

Okay.

Quite a few more have vanity.

So this is how English Standard Version

and the King James Version,

among numerous others,

translate the word we're looking for.

Does anyone have anything else

other than meaningless or vanity?

Okay.

That covers it.

Well, the International Standard Version

says pointless.

The New English Translation

says futile.

The Good News Translation

says useless.

And there are a lot of others as well.

All of these words

beat around the bush

as the Hebrew word here

lacks any concise English translation.

And that word is hevel.

Hevel is a noun

which personally makes

my grammarian self

want to issue

meaningless, pointless,

futile,

and other adjectival translations.

But Strong's Concordance

defines the word

as vapor or breath,

which are close in concept

to the Hebrew

but not so popular

in translations.

Vanity is a reasonable translation

and seems to be

one of the most popular.

It is at least a noun.

And when defined

not as inflated pride

in oneself

or one's appearance

but rather something

that is vain,

empty,

or valueless,

it comes close.

Vain being defined

by Merriam-Webster

as marked by futility

or ineffectualness.

Keeping in mind

the idea of futility

or ineffectualness

while we read Ecclesiastes

yields a more faithful

interpretation

of the original text

than we might get

from meaningless

or even vanity alone.

As alluded to

by the Strong's definition,

Hevel may physically refer

to smoke or a vapor,

which is actually

a pretty good image

to consider

as we try to get

the gist

of this complex word.

So if we imagine

smoke for a second,

we can see it.

It seems to have a form,

but if we try to touch it,

we can't.

The moment we try

to grasp it,

the quicker it changes

or it dissipates

or it moves.

Depending on context,

then,

this word extends

to imply a seemingly

pointless venture,

a paradox,

an enigma,

something that cannot

be grasped,

something that seems

to defy human understanding.

Other uses of Hevel

in the Old Testament

are variously translated

in the ESV.

Job 7.16 says,

I loathe my life,

I would not live forever,

leave me alone,

for my days are a breath.

Proverbs 31.30 says,

Charm is deceitful

and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears

the Lord is to be praised.

From Jeremiah,

the instruction of idols

is but wood,

they are worthless,

a work of delusion.

And Zechariah says,

for the household gods

utter nonsense

and the diviner see lies

that tell false dreams

and give empty consolation.

So meaningless,

vanity,

a breath,

worthless,

empty,

futility,

smoke,

all of these words

have been used

in an attempt

to express Hevel

in English,

and each is reasonable

and yet incomplete.

Ecclesiastes is for the most part

defined by a particular mood

and holding Hevel lightly

and surrendering

to the poetry of that mood

allows for a richer reading

of the book.

All this to say,

with regard to the wisdom

of Ecclesiastes

as it touches on our work,

well,

it's complicated

and confusing

and a bit hard

to get a handle on.

But one thing is clear,

it would be far too simplistic

to sit back,

glance at Ecclesiastes

and call our work

meaningless.

Any questions there?

Pause for a second.

Alright.

So,

our work may not be meaningless,

but it sure is frustrating.

As we learned

in Pastor Greg's introduction

to this class,

the origin of work

is good.

However,

after the fall,

our work was subjected

to futility,

and we now often experience

our work as toil,

a word which,

by my count in the ESV,

Kohelet uses 32 times.

In chapter 2,

we find Kohelet

in the midst

of a search for meaning.

I searched

till I might see

what was good

for the children of man

to do under heaven

during the few days

of their life,

he says.

He first tries pleasure

and laughter.

Enjoy yourself,

he says.

But alas,

Hevel.

Wine?

Nope.

Also Hevel.

I like this next one.

He moves on

to making great works,

houses,

vineyards,

gardens,

parks,

trees,

pools,

forests,

you name it,

he built it.

All Hevel.

He buys up slaves

and builds up

a massive household.

He increases

his flocks

and herds.

He amasses

great treasures.

Nope.

Hevel.

He tries to find

meaning in entertainment

when he hires

male and female singers.

Perhaps Jerusalem

scout talent,

I don't know.

He even avails

himself of

many concubines,

yet even that

is Hevel.

At this point,

Kohelet has quite

literally pursued

wine,

women,

and song

to find some

deeper meaning.

He opines,

So I became great

and surpassed

all who were

before me

in Jerusalem.

Also my wisdom

remained with me

and whatever

my eyes desired

I did not

keep from them.

I kept my heart

from no pleasure

for my heart

found pleasure

in all my toil

and this was

my reward

for all my toil.

Then I considered

all that my hands

had done

and the toil

I had expended

in doing it

and behold,

all was vanity

and a striving

after wind

and there was

nothing to be

gained

under the sun.

Do you notice

here what

Kohelet is

ultimately seeking

through his work?

He's expecting

that fulfilling

his every desire

will give him

pleasure

and for a time

it does

but of course

as we might

suspect

it doesn't last

and something

finally dawns

on him.

In the end

seeking cheap

pleasure

is all Hevel

impossible to grasp

fleeting

a striving

after wind.

I wish

this was a lesson

we would take

to heart

by listening

to Kohelet

rather than

trying to find

meaning for ourselves

and things

that can never

provide ultimate

meaning.

Instead

we're often

like the child

who has to

touch the hot

stove

even though

we've been

told

it will burn

us.

I can relate

to Kohelet

a bit here

in a lesson

I learned

quite by accident.

Come to think

of it I suppose

many valuable

life lessons

are learned

by accident.

The firm

I worked

for

Picard Chilton

has a

well-deserved

reputation

for designing

large commercial

structures

often high-rises

and they're

very good

at it.

Since first

sketching

the distinctive

spired crown

of the Chrysler

building from

photos years

before I'd

ever been

to New York

City

skyscrapers

have long

been an

interest of

mine.

How exciting

it was then

to find myself

just out of

school

immersed in

the design

of soaring

structures

that could

change the

skylines

of their

respective

cities

for years

to come.

In a short

time I found

myself traveling

frequently for

work,

often times

internationally.

The expense

was my

firms but

the frequent

flyer miles

and hotel

points were

mine to

keep and

use for

my family.

I presented

a competition

in Copenhagen.

I traveled

to Malaysia

for a single

face-to-face

meeting where

my time in

the air

getting there

and back

was way

longer than

my time

on the

ground.

And I

went to

Italy twice

to look

at stone

slabs

at the

same quarry

where the

block

Michelangelo

used for

David had

been cut

in the

15th

century.

For my

last five

years at

the firm

I was

involved

with my

longest term

assignment

which had

me traveling

bi-weekly

to Calgary

for meetings

and site

visits for

the design

and construction

of a

50-story

office tower.

It was

fun,

it was

exciting,

it was

glamorous,

especially when

I started

getting upgraded

to first class

almost every

time.

In many

ways I

was living

the dream

but of

course it

wasn't always

a dream.

I mean

this in the

most humble

way possible

but once

a bit of a

young star

in the

office things

started to

change when

Kim and I

adopted our

children and

I started

showing hesitancy

to put in

the hours

that other

mostly unmarried

employees did

without

balking.

My teammates

started questioning

my commitment

to our

projects and

the politics

of the office

started to

become tedious.

I began

to receive

low marks

on my

peer reviews

for my

work ethic

and when

I tried

to address

this with

my supervisor

by telling

him I

was often

in the

office several

hours before

the rest of

my team

and so when

I left

by 6pm

I had

already been

there 10

or 11

hours instead

of their

7 or 8.

His answer

was,

well,

perception

is reality

and their

perception

is you're

not here

enough.

When I

found out

that some

younger

employees who

had been

at the

firm less

than I

had and

who were

not yet

even licensed

architects

were making

more money

than me,

I really

started to

question the

smiles and

nods and

pats on the

back from

my bosses

and eventually

I started to

consider alternative

employment.

I hadn't

gone into my

first job

looking for

my life's

meaning per

se.

I wasn't

on a

mission like

Kohelet is

in chapter

two.

Rather,

it just kind

of happened

that I was

doing pretty

much exactly

what I had

wanted to

do for so

long.

When I

left,

I was sad

not so much

that I was

leaving the

firm,

but because I

felt I was

leaving the

firm,

disillusioned

by the

way I had

been treated,

whether

consciously or

unconsciously,

by my

colleagues.

But I like

to say now

that I am

thankful that

God gave me

my dream job

right out of

school,

because then I

could do my

dream job for

a while,

set it aside,

and move on

to something

else.

Had I not

had the

opportunities I

did at the

time,

I might still

be searching

and striving

for a dream

that could

never provide

any ultimate

fulfillment.

I might

still not

have learned

Kohelet's

lesson.

My current

job is hard

to compare

to my

old job.

They are

in the

same industry

and I am

dealing daily

with architecture

and buildings,

but they are

like apples

and oranges.

There are

some things I

miss about my

old job and

some things I

could do

without in

my new

job,

but the

move overall

has been a

good step

for me and

my family.

Practically

speaking,

it has allowed

me to support

a family of

seven on one

income.

The benefits

are above

average,

the hours

are fewer

and more

predictable,

but it's

also a job

and it feels

like a job

most days

too.

Who of us

then can

relate to

Kohelet a

little bit

farther into

chapter 2?

Verses 18

through 21.

I hated

all my

toil in which

I toiled

under the

sun,

seeing that

I must

leave it

to the

man who

will come

after me,

and who

knows whether

he will be

wise or a

fool.

Yet he

will be

master of

all for

which I

toiled and

used my

wisdom under

the sun.

This also

is vanity.

So I

turned about

and gave my

heart up to

despair over

all the

toil of my

labors under

the sun,

because sometimes

a person who

has toiled with

wisdom and

knowledge and

skill must

leave everything

to be enjoyed

by someone who

did not toil

for it.

This also is

vanity and a

great evil.

This has

got to be one

of the biggest

frustrations I

have in my

current job,

and one of the

biggest motivations

sucks that I

battle every

day.

That is,

feeling like the

work I do

today will be

inconsequential in

a few years.

Each day it

feels like I'm

fighting to make

wise decisions for

the future,

at the same time

I'm fighting

against unwise

decisions from

the past.

The most poetic

way I can think

to describe my

current job is

that I'm one of

the stewards of

Yale's built

environment.

One of the

reasons I wanted

to work at Yale

was because of

the legacy of

great buildings

that make up

its campus.

From Sterling

Memorial Library

to the Yale

Art Gallery

to the Yale

Whale and

everywhere in

between, Yale

is littered with

amazing architecture

and has shown

itself at times

to be an

institution with

great architectural

vision.

But all that

glitters is not

gold.

For every

well-maintained

building on

campus, there are

at least two or

three that need

serious work.

Each of which

got to that

point over time

by many people

making many

decisions, both

big and small.

Generations that

have come before

me and generations

that will come

after me will

attempt to be

wise in the

spending of

large sums of

money on

buildings at

Yale.

But we will

also always

miss the

mark.

Things we think

are wise

expenditures today

will be moot

when a new

faculty member

or a new

dean or a new

provost or a

new president

decide that

priorities have

changed.

I never know

whether one of

my projects will

be neglected

and relegated

to second-rate

care or

re-renovated

in a couple

years at

great expense

because someone

has changed

their mind

on its

utility.

Oftentimes, in

the interest

of financial

decisions today,

we're asked to

defer work, which

only exacerbates

other issues

in the future.

I'm actually on

the receiving end

of one of these

issues right now.

A few years ago,

what we call

the NAVE, that

is the main

hall of the

church-like

Sterling Memorial

Library, underwent

a $20 million

restoration.

restoration.

The project is

stunning, really.

Though I wasn't

involved in the

project at the

time, the library

is one of my

responsibilities now.

At the time, a

decision was made

to defer

replacement of

some rain

leaders, pipes,

that bring water

down from the

roof through the

stone walls to

the stormwater

management system

below.

Instead, the

lines were

scoped with a

camera to look

for damage and

then protected on

the inside by

synthetic lining

rather than

replaced.

I'm confident

this was done to

save money, keep

a schedule, and

avoid the hassle of

invasive stone

work.

However, considering

the age of the

building and

otherwise comprehensive

renovation that

touched everything

else surrounding it,

it would have been

the perfect time to

replace the leaders

with the least amount

of impact on

operations in the

long run.

Instead, only a few

short years later,

the lining is

suspected to have

failed at what was

likely a weak joint

to begin with, and

rainwater has been

entering the cavity

between the inner and

outer stone walls and

their brick core for

months, telegraphing

moisture through to

the interior stone.

The flash flood

level rain we had a

few weeks ago didn't

help, and the

failure has now been

catastrophic and the

issue has become

critical.

An easily ignored

problem that was

deferred then now has

water leaking through

and staining the stone

in one of the most

prominent public

locations on campus.

And what I'm sure

will be hundreds of

thousands of dollars

of work that will

impact the public

space of the library

with construction noise

and hassle could have

been prevented for far

less expense and

impact when the space

was renovated in the

first place.

The decision that led

to this problem wasn't

mine, but it's my

problem now nonetheless.

Unless I get too full

of myself, I'm sure I

am making decisions I

feel are wise now that

will become someone

else's problem in the

future.

So when faced with

these frustrations,

when we realize that we

can't place ultimate

meaning in our work,

when we can't count on

future stewards of our

work to care as much

as we did, and when

even our wisest decisions

today will be thought

foolish in the future,

what are we to do?

So the quicker we remove

ultimate meaning from our

work, the quicker we are

free to see it for what

it actually is.

But what is it?

Fortunately, Kohelet

presents both the problem

and the solution in almost

one breath.

He says,

What gain has the worker

from his toil?

I've seen the business

that God has given the

children of man to be

busy with.

He has made everything

beautiful in its time.

Also, he has put eternity

into man's heart, yet so

that he cannot find out

what God has done from the

beginning to the end.

I perceived that there is

nothing better for them than

to be joyful and to do good

as long as they live.

Also, that everyone should

eat and drink and take

pleasure in all his toil.

This is God's gift to man.

That's Ecclesiastes 3, 9

through 13.

And then Ecclesiastes 2,

24 and 25 says,

There is nothing better for

a person than he should

eat and drink and find

enjoyment in his toil.

This also I saw is from the

hand of God, for apart from

him who can eat or who can

have enjoyment.

So did you catch what it is?

Our work is a gift.

And not only is our work

itself a gift, but the

ability to enjoy its fruits

is also a gift.

Oftentimes, I do not

experience my work day, nor

reflect on it afterwards as

a gift from God.

So know that I'm talking to

myself here as much as I'm

talking to you.

But when confronted with the

issues raised by Kohelet, I

can see that it is a gift.

It is a gift that allows me

to provide for my family.

It is the gift that allows

my wife the space to take

educating and mothering our

children seriously.

It is the gift that allows us

the time and resources to

open our home to a small

group.

It is a gift that provides,

as I say to my children,

all of the things we need and

many, many of the things that

we want.

In light of the frustrations of

our work, and perhaps despite

of it, we are wise to see our

work, whatever it is, as a

gift from God and be

grateful.

I have a feeling that embracing

our spirit of gratitude may

even begin to soften some of

the frustrations surrounding

our work.

But I want to go a bit further

than Kohelet does and try to

bring together some larger

biblical themes here.

Ecclesiastes ends by

summarizing Kohelet's arguments

and exhorting the reader.

Ecclesiastes 12, 13.

The end of the matter, all has

been heard.

Fear God and keep his

commandments, for this is the

whole duty of man.

This got me thinking about God's

commandments, and as it relates

to our work, one particular

imperative came to mind from the

New Testament.

In Colossians, Paul writes,

Whatever you do, work heartily,

as for the Lord and not for men,

knowing that from the Lord you

will receive the inheritance as

your reward.

You are serving the Lord Christ.

But what is this inheritance?

What do we know that Kohelet didn't?

As we saw from chapter 2, Kohelet

illustrates that one of the main

frustrations for us in our work is

that what we work so hard to create

often gets left to someone else.

Kohelet is not the only biblical

figure to notice this.

The prophet Zephaniah says,

Though they build houses, they

shall not inhabit them.

Though they plant vineyards, they

shall not drink wine from them.

Another prophet, Amos, says,

You have built houses of hewn stone,

but you shall not dwell in them.

You have planted pleasant vineyards,

but you shall not drink their wine.

Similarly, Deuteronomy says,

You shall build a house, but you

shall not dwell in it.

You shall plant a vineyard, but you

shall not enjoy its fruit.

There are other instances as well,

but the general theme seems to be

thus.

Disobedience of the Lord results in

the inability to enjoy the fruit of

our labor.

This certainly gels with our

understanding of work as toil, as

the corruption of a good thing after

the fall.

It is this world we live in post-fall

that we have seen Kohelet trying to

grapple with as he observes a

frustratingly unfair world.

Deuteronomy describes the consequences

of disobedience.

Zephaniah and Amos describe judgment.

However, there's another prophet who

uses the houses and vineyard to

describe restoration and promise.

In his description of the new heaven

and the new earth, Isaiah says,

They shall build houses and inhabit

them.

They shall plant vineyards and eat

their fruit.

They shall not build and another

inhabit.

They shall not plant and another eat.

And my chosen shall long enjoy the

work of their hands.

Finally, at last, there will be a

restoration.

Not one that takes away work, but one

in which our relationship with it will

be made right.

When we shall again enjoy the fruits of

our labor as God intended.

No more as Kohelet will we be subject to

an unfair world.

As the Jesus Storybook Bible says, every

story whispers his name.

And so we know that scriptures like

Isaiah point to Christ.

And we know that this promised restoration

is offered in the person of Christ.

It seems to me that the promise of this

future restoration of the right

relationship of labor and fruit is what

gives a dignity to our still frustrating

work today.

A point I should very much remember when

I'm most disenchanted in my job.

Thankfully, ungrateful sinner that I am

in my daily work through Christ, I don't

have to obey perfectly to gain the eternal

reward.

Christ has already done the work on my

behalf.

In Joshua, God reminds the Israelites of

their deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

I gave you a land on which you had not

labored and cities that you had not

built and you dwell in them.

You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive

orchards that you did not plant.

Is that not the promise for the Christian

also?

Is that not the inheritance that Paul

mentions in Colossians?

In our case, Christ has labored to build

the house for us and has planted the

vineyards and cultivated the vine so that

we might not labor in vain.

Who knows?

Maybe I like all these scriptures because

they talk about houses and the architect in

me just can't help it.

But the psalmist reminds us, unless the

Lord builds the house, those who build it

labor in vain.

Because we know that the Lord himself is

building our houses, we have the freedom

to receive even our toil, as Kohelet

suggests, as a gift from God with

gratitude.

Because what awaits us is something that

Kohelet couldn't even dream of.

When Christ brings forth the restoration of

creation, it will have us looking back on

even our worst work days under the sun and

saying with full-throated joy to hevel with

it.

Oh, I've got to groan.

That's good.

Questions?

Bleep!

You have to bleep Hebrew words?

Thank you.

Happy to take a few questions if you have

any.

Yeah.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

It's actually really encouraging.

I think one of the questions I have is

how do you, you know, having been trained

in an ethic that strives for perfection

and also having internalized the faith that

sort of demands that out of you, right?

And that's very much, I think, who you are.

How do you, in your work, when you are

frustrated by decisions that you view as

incorrect, how do you put back?

How do you raise that in a way that is, you know, is godly?

Because I understand that, you know, in some careers, you know, we're talking about money

and time and aesthetics.

And in other careers, we're talking about people's lives and the success or failure of products that could impact disease and death.

So, there's a certain indignation sometimes that occurs, you know, within, I think, within me when I see the same problems.

And when I raise these objections and stuff, I can do it in a very harsh way.

And it can be very alienating to those around me.

But at the same time, you know, there's a time and place for that.

So, I don't know if you have some thoughts on it.

Yeah.

So, the question is how to sort of push back in a godly way on things that we think are unwise, perhaps.

So, yeah, money.

A lot of decisions at Yale are made based on money.

And related to that, an unrealistic expectation of what money can buy sometimes.

And so, you know, between my colleagues and I, sometimes as we're brainstorming what's going on and, like, there's a component of this project we really think is important to do, we'll be talking about it.

And I keep always coming back to, you know, it's either worth doing or it's not worth doing.

Right?

Like, if the provost really wants this, it's either worth doing here at the quality that we expect at Yale or it's worth not doing at this time because the money's not there.

So, sometimes there are those frustrations.

But more to your point, perhaps, is, you know, there are definitely occasions where something has been excluded from a project.

And not constantly but periodically over the course of design and even into construction because we carry contingency monies to cover certain changes and that sort of thing.

I will, one element in particular of a recent project, I never got it covered, but periodically I was saying, listen, I think that the right thing to do, ultimately, it's a practical, practically doing this now will keep us from having to come back in five years and do it in the same space that we're already in.

So, there's a practical, but also aesthetically for the quality of the university, like, this is something.

And, you know, I did that three or four times to try to get a certain element brought back in for a small incremental cost relative to the whole.

And at a certain point, I did all I could do, you know, I guess I had to say hevel.

Like, I couldn't, there was, there was no more to push back on because it wasn't, you know, working, working under, working to make a finite set of decisions under a larger decision-making body can be difficult.

But, you know, when I feel it's appropriate, I do push, but it doesn't always, it doesn't always work.

I don't know if that answers your question.

Kirsten and then John.

I'd like to commend you and your wife, first of all, on making the difficult decision to put your family first and make a job change, which was not popular among your peers, especially now.

So, it's something that people just don't understand.

And it's not a, it's not even a basis of whether you're a Christian or not.

It's just in a career-driven society, everyone just assumes both of you are going to have full-time jobs with extra hours.

And it's a, it's a sacrifice that you can do.

And, come to me, being a little bit older than you, we are on the other tail end of married children.

And, um, I thought I was going to go back to teaching full-time, you know, and my kids went into school full-time.

The Lord had other plans for me.

Being on this other end now, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Because that all is hebel doesn't factor in into the big picture of things, you know, for us personally.

Um, so, that difficult decision to switch to Yale and not be in the high-intensity work, or whether it's just as simple as saying yes to one job and not another.

Um, you know, are we listening to the Lord and what he has promised for us in the future?

Or are we listening to what our peers are saying and what society is saying?

And in the job world right now, with it being as competitive as it is for those new, really good jobs that are out there, it's really a difficult decision to make and not one to be taken lightly.

So, I just, you know, I, I hope that you feel that the, the sacrifice and the switch was worth it, even if you don't feel it every day.

Yes. Yes and yes.

It's okay to wake up.

Yes and yes.

I see your posts about, you know, who you're next to on the bus or what you're listening to.

And sometimes you sit there saying, man, I don't know if this is worth it.

So I understand that completely.

Yeah.

John, did you have?

Yeah.

Thanks so much, James.

That was so pointy and beautiful.

And I love the way of, um, gesture too, just kind of streaks of light and hope that we have.

Because you think of, ah, Moses' cry.

And you know, God, oh God, give permanence to the world.

That long, right?

Not just a slip through your fingers.

I think of, ah, how that gnawing kind of eats at us all.

And, ah, when I think of vanity, vanity, I mean, when those, those words do, well, kallos, the Greek, which might have a semantic range, it's a pretty close.

I think of, ah, I think of 1 Corinthians 15, 58.

Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always about in the word of the Lord.

That in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.

And the therefore is, you know, 1 Corinthians 15 is just talking about the whole direction.

God will take everything, and there is a permanent quality, and it will persevere.

So, the kingdom actually seems to be the answer to our longing, that there would be something permanent in our labors.

Though it seems like the possibility that we might not invest them well.

If, ah, in Philippians 2, ah, I don't know, somewhere around, ah, what it says, ah, would you, it's always, that I might not have labored in vain.

And he would say, but he'd know that he would not, if he held fast for the work of the Lord, that he would know that in the day of Christ he had not run, nor labored in vain.

So, we have, we feel this gnawing, but the kingdom allows us to bless in such a way that it will be permanent.

He seems like he doesn't abandon the late work of his hands, and that he doesn't even abandon the work of the hands of his people.

So, thank you for that.

Thanks.

Thanks, John.

Any last words?

All right.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Let's pray for, um, let's pray for James, and, uh, pray for others who are working in architecture, and also others who are frustrated in their work.

All right.

All right.

Lord, we thank you for, thank you for James, and thank you for the way that you have, um, brought these truths home in his own heart over the years.

Thank you, Lord, for, uh, showing him, um, that our, our dream job is not, it's not, it's not all that you've called us to live for.

And, uh, thank you for, um, uh, showing him that lesson and yet bringing him through that and, um, helping him, pray that you would help him to find contentment in you day by day to, um, to live in, in the, in the gratitude, uh, for what you have given to him to, even to enjoy, uh, the work that you've given him.

Um, uh, and to persevere through the frustrations of it.

Lord, we pray for others who are working in architecture and others who may be, uh, struggling with some of these, um, uh, tensions and, and, and difficulties that, uh, that he's spoken about today.

Uh, Lord, that you would give them wisdom, that you would help them to, to work, to, to work heartily as for you and not, uh, for, uh, not for other people.

Uh, Lord, that, uh, you would help them to, uh, to, to, to know that you are, uh, to, to find hope and joy in those promises of, of restoration that you are building.

You are building a house, uh, for us, uh, Lord, that one day we will enjoy, uh, the, the fruit of, uh, of your work on our behalf.

Uh, and Lord, we pray for, uh, pray for, especially for those who are, uh, just facing frustrations or feeling like their work is toilsome and, and even,

and empty Lord, that's all of us at one level.

Um, but I pray especially for those who just feel that, um, in an oppressive way or on a daily basis, uh, or an hourly minute by minute basis.

Um, uh, Lord, that you would draw near to them in, in their frustrations, that you would help them to bring those frustrations to you.

Um, that you would help them to, um, uh, to, to, to look, to find some of the wisdom, to find some of the wisdom in Ecclesiastes.

Uh, as well as Proverbs and, and Job, uh, to be helpful to them.

Um, uh, Lord, that they would, that, that you would, um, yeah, just give them wisdom about how to, how to live in a very, in, in very frustrating work environments.

Um, uh, and Lord, we, uh, yeah, we thank you for this, uh, for all that you've given us this morning.

Um, pray that you would help us to, uh, take it to heart, uh, and encourage one another with these words.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.