Saying of the Desert Christians: Abba Apollo

from: http://orthodoxwiki.org/Sayings_of_the_Desert_Fathers#Abba_Apollo

There was in the Cells an old man called Apollo. If someone came to find him about doing a piece of work, he would set out joyfully, saying, 'I am going to work with Christ today, for the salvation of my soul, for that is the reward he gives.'

Some thoughts;

Occasionally when I read this Saying, I sometimes think of the 7 Dwarves, happily singing as they go off to work every day in that mine of theirs. Joy at going to work was not how I would describe my feelings when the alarm would go off at 5:30 AM so that I could catch the 6:35 AM to Boston. No, joy was not at all the word.

Abba Apollo (which strikes me as an odd name for a Christian) doesn't seem to care what the nature of the work might have been. He sees himself as working with Jesus, as if Jesus was right there alongside of Apollo.

Do we think of ourselves as working with Jesus? Certainly we may think of ourselves as working for God or to serve our fellow humans. But what about working with Jesus as if He were right next to us doing the same work?