From the Pulpit: Working 9 to 5

By: 
Father Andrew Young, Risen Savior

The tradition of Labor Day in the United States began in 1882 in New York City but quickly spread to other big cities across the country as a celebration of the “workingmen’s holiday.”  Today it is celebrated as a national holiday, which we celebrated last week, to pay tribute to those men and women, both in years past and today, who contribute so much to our nation’s strength, economy, freedom and leadership – the American worker.

What makes this American holiday important to people of faith? Labor Day recognizes that there is dignity in work.  Work is good and necessary!  If we look at the very first words of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, we see that we have a God who is a worker – He worked, He created all that we see and have here in our world today.  Since we are created in His image, male and female, we are also called to work.  We see the creating hand of God but we also hear His words in Scripture where He commands our first parents, Adam and Eve, to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.”  So when we work, when we subdue the earth, we reflect the very action of the Creator and we fulfill this command.  There is dignity in work but it is also a necessity because it allows us to provide food, shelter, health care and safety for our families.  Work also contributes to our local society and provides active participants in building a country, which is able to prosper and share with future generations.  One religious leader stated that work “is fundamental in the dignity of a person...it anoints us with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God and gives us the ability to maintain oneself, one’s family and to contribute to the growth of one’s own nation.”

The Catholic Cathedral in Sioux Falls is named after St. Joseph who knew how to work as a carpenter and taught our Lord Jesus what it meant to work.  On day that Catholics celebrate the Feast Day of St. Joseph the Worker, Pope Francis stated that “Jesus is born and lives in a family, in the Holy Family, learning the carpenter’s craft from St. Joseph in his workshop in Nazareth, sharing with him the commitment, effort, satisfaction and also the difficulties of every day.  This reminds us of the dignity and the importance of work.”  

Each year Labor Day Weekend reaffirms for us one other important detail that must not be forgotten – although work is important and necessary, it is not the sole purpose of our existence.  John Paul II emphasizes the “primacy of man in the production process, the primacy of man over things.”  We are not people who are simply destined to work.  Work is what we do...not who we are.   Work was made for man not man for work.  Pope Francis states, “...slave labor, work that enslaves.  How many people worldwide are victims of this type of slavery, when the person is at the service of his or her work, while work should offer a service to people so they may have dignity.”  

Let us each day celebrate the accomplishments of all workers who through the sweat of their brow have given us a prosperous nation and a bright future.  Look around our community and give thanks to the people you see each day, trying to make everyone’s life just a little better – the teacher, the custodian, the doctor, the grocery worker and the teen who always takes my order at Taco Johns.  Let us give thanks to the one Creator, God, for the gift of life and the bountiful blessings he has showered upon our country.  Let us pray for those who don’t have jobs or who are in work situations where they are not being treated justly.  Lastly, let us remember people come first...then work!

Category:

The Brandon Valley Journal

 

The Brandon Valley Journal
1404 E. Cedar St.
Brandon, SD 57005
(605) 582-9999

Email Us

Facebook Twitter

Please Login for Premium Content