PENTECOST XIII
September 4, 2022
“All in a Day’s Work”
Happy Labor Day, everyone! Does that greeting sound a little odd to you? It just doesn’t quite have the ring that a cheerful wish for a festive holiday ordinarily has. Most of us don’t have a clear sense of what Labor Day is, why we observe it, and what (if anything) we should do. Whether you’re interested or not, here’s a quick summary of how and why we observe this day. By 1882, unionized carpenters and machinists promoted the need of a day to honor the working men and women of our country, and by 1894 it was declared a national holiday. Parades and picnics were held, and the importance of the working people and their contributions to the well-being and prosperity of our nation was recognized.
Finding references to work or labor throughout the Bible is not especially difficult. If you want to start at the beginning, look at Genesis 2:2a, 3a: “And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, . . . So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.” The creation story tells us of God’s work each day, step by step, adding to and building upon what had been done the day before. And the beautiful words at the end of each day, “And God saw that it was good,” tell us how highly he valued his accomplishment.
Many of us would love to be able to look at a day’s work and think to ourselves that at least something we had done could be considered good. For huge numbers of people, doing their jobs effectively through 2+ years of a pandemic has been incredibly challenging, and it hasn’t always gone well. But many of them showed inspiring creativity and found ways to work, teach, care for and communicate with one another. There are times when hanging on and doing the best you can is definitely “good.”
The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ ministry tell of his calling fishermen and other working people to be his disciples. He knew and trusted them to be faithful and strong in carrying out the work that lay ahead. As our Lord taught and preached, he spoke of planting and harvesting, fishermen casting their nets, or shepherds caring for their flocks, using these everyday images to tell of God’s love and faithfulness for his people.
The Apostles continued the mission of establishing new congregations, and there was no question that the new Christians were called to do a good amount of hard work. St. Paul wrote to encourage the church of Corinth: “Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (I Cor. 15:58)
We certainly aren’t the first, and won’t be the last, of God’s people who have struggled through difficult, uncertain, and turbulent times. We are, however, like those before us, reassured that our labor is not in vain, and we are never alone.
Grateful to do something that matters,
Your friend in Christ,
Mary Rogers