The vocation of the unemployed?

Rev. Christopher Jackson wrote me this e-mail:

I was thinking recently that a helpful topic for you to take up in these days it the vocation of the unemployed. Specifically, I think it would be interesting to see what the Doctrine of Vocation says about unemployment and how the unemployed could even see unemployment as a special kind of vocation.

First of all, “vocation,” as in the doctrine of, is NOT the same as “vocation” in today’s vernacular, as a synonym for “job.” “Vocation” is simply the Latinate word for “calling.” The idea is that God calls us to different tasks, offices, and neighbors. These fall into the categories of the “estates” that God has established: the family, the church, and the state. One’s job is, indeed, part of our vocation, though Luther himself classified economic activity as belonging with the family, part of the “household” (oeconomia=management of a household, which is where we get the word “economy,” referring to how families make a living). Anyway, the point is that a person doesn’t have to have a job to have a vocation. He is still a member of his family. He is still a member of his church, if he is a Christian. He is still a citizen.

We can also speak of God calling us to different trials. Unemployment can certainly be that.

I’m not sure what else to say. Help me out. What would you say to Rev. Jackson about this?