|
Dear St. Christopher’s Family,
This weekend is the unofficial start of the Busy Season. Often the joke is that most of us celebrate Labor Day by doing what else? Laboring! I’m glad for this holiday not just for the day off, but because I think it is important for us to step back as a society and appreciate the work that we, and our neighbors, do.
In the Bible, humans have a complicated relationship with work. Even God works hard enough at the creation that he needs to take a break, a day of rest. Among the curses of the fall is that our work will become harder and yield less. And even Jesus promises rest for those who are weary and heavy-laden. Too much work can grind a person down. Consider what Gandhi believed were the deadliest ‘sins’ that plagued the 20th century:
- Wealth without Work
- Pleasure without Conscience
- Knowledge without Character
- Business without Ethics
- Science without Humanity
- Religion without Sacrifice
- Position without Principle
But work is something we also celebrate. All of us carry the image of God, which has its own incomparable dignity, but from the earliest days of our tradition, the work we do, from the greatest to the least, from princes to paupers, creates the dignity of the product of the work, but also enhances the dignity of the one doing it. When we work our best, we are showcasing the image of God as we enhance creation.
With this celebration, though, comes a duty for us as Christians. Too often, people work unseen. They are treated as a means to an end (the product), and their dignity takes a back seat to their usefulness to someone else. We are called to see those who work to make our lives better and thus see God at his own work. Where workers are taken for granted, our vocation is to raise them up. Whenever anyone is treated as a number and not a person, our voices should be the loudest in protest. And when our work is done for the glory of God, our voices should be the loudest in praise.
|
