One of the Reformation’s distinctive contributions was the conviction that every Christian has a calling. The prevailing view in the sixteenth century was that God’s calling was reserved for priests, nuns, and monks. The Reformer Martin Luther believed that every Christian was called to serve God through their occupation. All vocations, no matter how mundane, have dignity and worth to God. As Martin Luther famously said, “Even dairymaids can milk cows to the glory of God.”
Thomas Beccon (or Becon 1511-1567) shared Martin’s belief that God’s calling includes all Christians. He lived during the turbulent period of four English Tudor monarchs. He did not have an easy time of it when King Henry VIII and Queen Mary occupied the throne. He was arrested as a seditious preacher twice, imprisoned in the Tower of London for nine months, lived in hiding for four years in the mountains, wrote under the pseudonym Thomas of Bastille to avoid detection, had his books burned, and was branded a heretic, meaning that anyone caught reading his writings would be severely punished.
Thomas wrote two prayer manuals as an aid to prayer, chiefly during the time he lived in exile. A quarter of the prayers he composed were intended for people in various occupations: kings, queens, merchants, soldiers, lawyers, servants, and mariners. He believed there was value in all legitimate forms of employment since it reflects God’s creative work. All work that promotes human flourishing is God’s work. One such prayer was intended for landlords. This one makes me smile. What a glorious world it would be if landlords took this prayer to heart: