Monday, XXII week of Ordinary Time (Labor Day)
(Luke 4)
Americans tend to rest or recreate on Labor Day. Unlike the other two national summer holidays, Labor Day has always fallen on Monday to make a long weekend. Also, Labor Day marks the end of the vacation season – the last day of ease before the fall harvest of research papers or of production quotas. Although election campaigns traditionally begin on Labor Day giving some stage for reflection, the United States has deliberately avoided a May 1 holiday when most of the world meditates on the meaning of work.
How opportune then is it for us to have today this gospel passage where Jesus proclaims good news to the poor! We should think of the poor as workers whom technology only in recent times and in some societies has delivered from poverty. Jesus brings salvation for the poor even ahead of the rich since money cannot buy entrance into the Kingdom of God. Rather, it is a humble heart – which workers more than bosses tend to cultivate – that finds God’s favor.
Jesus’ good news includes the message that work itself is a gift from God. Whether we are the architects of a new cathedral that will render glory to God or the bricklayer’s apprentices who mostly mix cement, our work contributes to the improvement of society. It also provides the bread for our tables, the roof over our heads, and medical assistance for our bodily welfare. Finally, work disciplines us to be industrious, efficient, and considerate. We need work almost as much as we need to relax and to celebrate God's goodness.
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