The Radical Nature of Friendship in the Workplace
“The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I may know how to answer the weary a word that will waken them. Morning after morning he wakens my ear to hear as disciples do; the Lord God opened my ear; I did not refuse, did not turn away” (Isaiah 50:4-5).
“I Thirst”: Using Our Gifts to Quench Christ’s Thirst
In a message by Pope St. John Paul II for Lent 1993, the great pope called the Church to reflect on Jesus’ words, “I thirst” (John 19:28) and “Give me a drink” (John 4:7). In these words, he wrote, ‘we hear a cry from the poor, especially those who did not have access to clean water’. In a subsequent letter to the Missionaries of Charity, St. Teresa of Calcutta (then simply known as Mother Teresa) elaborated on this message:
“‘I thirst’ is something much deeper than Jesus just saying ‘I love you.’ Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you — you can’t begin to know who He wants to be [for] you. Or who He wants you to be for Him.”
This Lent, Catholic Women in Business invites you to reflect with us on how Jesus thirsts for each one of us and how we can quench His thirst — through prayer, through sacrifice, through loving His children who are most in need (and there are so many this Lent in particular!). In our content this season, we’ll be exploring how, as Catholic professionals, we can begin to understand “who He wants to be” for us, “who He wants [us] to be for Him,” and how we can share His great love for us all with everyone we encounter.
I was once told by a fellow parishioner that I should keep all non-Catholic/Christian co-workers at an arm’s length because they would lead me to sin. She was a devout Catholic professional, so as a young professional, new to the corporate workplace, I listened to her and tried to stay guarded and keep my walls up.
Over time, however, it gnawed at me and twisted my heart in knots. I knew Jesus, and I knew of his radical friendships with others. How could I keep myself at arm’s length from my neighbors, especially if I felt called to lean into those relationships?
So, I scrapped the advice — and I have not experienced a moment of regret for that decision.
The world of third-party risk management and cybersecurity may seem exhilarating, but the most fulfilling part of my job, without a doubt, has been the intimate and unique relationships I have built with my co-workers. The last five years have been a slow pruning and cultivating of beautiful friendships that would have never exposed me to the hearts of my peers and the personhood of my co-workers without that radical availability.
What opportunity was God placing in front of me that I could have missed if I had left my guard up and my head down in my work, never interested in who sat next to me?
This Lent, we dive into Jesus’ conversation with Mother Teresa, when He told her from the cross, “I thirst.” He’s always thirsted for everyone made in the image and likeness of God, and His thirst has never discriminated between the holy and the “heathen.”
“Will You Give Me a Drink?”
The Gospel of John tells the story of Jesus and His friendship with the Samaritan woman. John explains that Jesus had to walk through Samaria. He had to know this woman, who was not Jewish and, in fact, was persecuted for her ethnicity.
He met the woman gathering water at Jacob’s well and asked her, “Will you give me a drink?” We’re familiar with their exchange, as He slowly revealed to her that He was the Christ for whom they had been waiting. He sought her out, in her sins and in her lifestyle that did not glorify God, and He revealed His heart to her. She, too, showed her own vulnerability.
In John 4:13-14, Jesus told the woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Because of their conversation, the woman at the well went back to her community and told them the story of Jesus, the Christ.
Cultivating Community in the Workplace
In our own world, especially in the midst of a pandemic, the people we meet in our workplace every day are thirsting for community and deep, life-giving relationships. Some are trapped at home with the family while trying to keep a company afloat. Others are alone, by themselves in an office, where silence has crowded the conversation for almost a year now. Our lack of proximity to one another, especially in the workplace, should not keep us from cultivating intentional community — community that doesn’t distract or stay at the surface but dives deep and enriches our soul.
It is a gift to be a Catholic woman in the secular workplace. The virtues of our faith that we practice, the places of our hearts we peel back to heal, the extra mile in emotional availability that we have learned through prayer, can create an emotional intelligence that is electrifying to our peers, especially the ones who are not practiced in the Christian faith. Even if we are hated by our peers because of our faith, we have a learned humility that unites us with Christ’s suffering.
We’re taught to believe these workplace friendships can’t exist. Even if it can’t happen overnight, however, our consistency, patience, prudence, and lending ear make a difference.
My team is so diverse, from different backgrounds, religions, generations, genders, socioeconomic statuses, lifestyles ... you name it. There can be a lot of conflict and discourse, to be sure. Still I have found our 80-person team to be a dynamic, colorful painting of what a well-represented workplace can look like. And it’s clear that the difference can be made by people who unite with their peers in Christ-like friendship and commitment. It only has to start with one.
Your Catholic faith and love for Jesus Christ will transform your workplace and the team members around you, if you let them. Your joy, your resiliency in struggle, and your grounded foundation in Truth will set you apart from the others. You have a secret power that can bring grace and Christ’s sweet love to the hearts of the people you encounter every day, with just a little trust and patience.
Mindy Edgington is a fiery, Midwestern Catholic convert from St. Louis, Missouri. She currently lives in Omaha, NE with her husband and their hound dog while he pursues law school at Creighton University. By day, Mindy works as a senior security engineer in third party risk management for a Fortune 300 health care system. She also regularly volunteers with the Catholic Charities Immigration Office in town. Her hobbies include: "strong drinks and hard conversations,” writing, hiking, and reading in her local coffee shops and bars (in typical extrovert fashion). You can follow her on Instagram @mindy.edgington.