Monday, September 1, 2025

 

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in ordinary Time – Labor Day

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4:16-30)

Humans were created to work.  According to Genesis, after creating male and female, God “blessed them saying ‘Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.”  In its origin, work was not meant as drudgery but as a blessing.  Through it humans provide for themselves and their families, serve the common good, and give glory to God by their achievement.  Work, therefore, is not a right but an obligation and a responsibility.

But workers do have rights.  To avoid exploitation, workers have rights to fair wages, safe working conditions, and suitable rest.  In today’s gospel Jesus inaugurates his mission in the world.  He says that he has come “to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”  This is shorthand for a Jubilee Year when rights are vindicated, injustices are rectified and peace among people is restored. 

Labor Day is a very brief Jubilee Year.  Workers are free to rest with their rights publicized and their achievements recognized.  Also, on this day we give thanks to God for workers, especially manual laborers.  By the extension of their muscles, we live more comfortably and more healthily than ever.

Monday, September 2, 2024

 

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 2:1-5; Luke 4:16-30)

Jesus’ discourse in Nazareth’s synagogue might have been delivered to the Labor Day Breakfast of the AFL-CIO.  It clearly addresses social concerns with a priority of the poor.  Jesus knows that men and women need fair wages, affordable health insurance, and freedom to associate so that they can avoid desperation and thank God.

Jesus was no slouch in the social arena.  He continually raged against Pharisees for burdening peasants with unimportant religious niceties.  The sermon today, which has been seen as an inaugural address, presents Jesus’ enlightened position on a number of issues including assistance to the needy and aid to the persecuted.

Despite the huge differences in the two major political parties of the United States, it is encouraging to see both championing the poor.  Government, after all, has a role to play in the development of a society although it is not as important to that end as the family.

Monday, September 4, 2023

 Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4:16-30)

Labor Day may be seen as a fulfillment of today’s gospel passage.  Jesus announces that he has come to free the oppressed and to proclaim a time of favor.  This announcement applies to those whose work, whether manual or intellectual, becomes unhealthy and dehumanizing.

Christianity has derived a theology of work that recognizes its purpose and worth.  All honest contributes to the glory of God and to human development.  Workers have rights that protect their safety and dignity.  They should be fairly paid to support themselves and their families.  Their workplace should be safeguarded from foreseeable dangers.  They should be allowed to organize in order to guarantee their welfare and the quality of their workmanship.

Labor Day is more than the end of a long weekend.  Our Eucharist today has a more definite focus than on other weekdays.  Rather these two events together are to remind us of Christ coming to work out our salvation. He lived among us first as a carpenter and then as a preacher.  More than that, he suffered, died, and rose so that laborers and everyone else might be free of the ultimate oppressions of sin and death.

Monday, September 5, 2022

 

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Times

(I Corinthians 5:1-8; Luke 6:6-11)

A few years the press noted a strange alliance between the Church and labor unions in France.  Both opposed the government’s attempt to allow stores to open on Sundays.  The cooperation was strange because in France labor unions have regularly opposed the Church.  The confrontation between Jesus and the Jewish lay leadership in today’s gospel reflects this opposition. 

Jesus wants to heal the man with a withered right hand on the Sabbath.  The scribes and Pharisees note this and watch if he will work the cure.  They believe that all work, even that of healing the infirmed, is forbidden on the Sabbath.  Jesus, however, thinks differently.  He affirms that healing is an activity of God who must work 24/7 to keep the world from falling apart.

The Church has supported the organization of labor at least since Pope Leo XIII’s monumental encyclical Rerum Novarum.  It notes how labor unions defended the rights of workers to fair wages and safe working conditions.  At times, however, the Church and other fair-minded people have opposed the efforts of “big labor.”  For example, the Church cannot support unions when they promote any so-called right to abortion.  Even on some strictly labor issues unions may pursue measures which benefit relatively few and harm the common good.

Monday, September 2, 2019

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4: 16-30)

It was customary for presidential candidates to begin their political campaigns on Labor Day.  They often returned to their hometowns to present their policy agenda.  Jesus does something similar in today’s gospel.

Jesus is about to launch his career as a reforming prophet.  Quite dramatically, he returns to Nazareth to lay out his objectives.  By no means does he profess “a rising tide will lift all boats.”  No, he will direct himself to the needs of the poor, the sick, and the oppressed.  However, everyone – poor and rich alike – will have to reform their ways.  The townspeople think that they might be privileged because they know Jesus’ family.  But Jesus quickly disabuses them of the idea.  To participate in the Kingdom of God, he indicates, one has to work for the common good.  That goal takes precedence over individual desires.

Today, Labor Day in the United States, bespeaks the need to reflect on the nature of work.  Whether it is to heal, to build, or to clean we should see it as both a gift received and a gift given.  We not only have received a job but, more basically, the ability to work.  We work not only for our own benefit but also to make the world a better place.  As Jesus hints in the gospel, with this frame of reference we prepare ourselves for God’s Kingdom.

Monday, September 4, 2017

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Labor Day, U.S.A.)

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4:16-30)

There was a woman at the office where I worked that responded in a striking way when I asked her how she was.  She said that she was thankful to have a job.  She may have meant two things by this response: that she had strength to work and that she had employment.  Today, Labor Day in the United States, is more a day off, the last of the summer holidays. It is a time to give praise and thanks for the work that we are doing. Jesus underscores this point in today's gospel.

When Jesus proclaims "glad tidings to the poor," he does not mean the destitute or the unemployed so much as the majority of workers.  In his time and still today in many parts of the world laborers have difficulty meeting family needs. Jesus is telling them that they no longer have to worry.  Their salvation is at hand.  The reign of God has come to see after for their welfare.

Work, of course, produces much more than money to put food on the table. Just as important, it gives us an opportunity to participate in divine creation. This may be readily seen in the efforts of builders, scientists, and artists, but it is true of all who labor. By cooking, selling, cleaning, and preaching, we make the world a better place.  By these activities we assist others live full and gracious lives.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(Colossians 1:24-2:3; Luke 6:6-11)

Sabbath rest has always been a priority on the agenda of organized labor.  One hundred years ago the issue was mostly religious.  A worker should have Sundays free to go to church.  Now the question is more of limiting the number of workdays so that the worker may take advantage of a weekend.  In today’s gospel the scribes and Pharisees show a concern about the Sabbath goes beyond either of these motives.

The supposedly holy men want to attack Jesus, not to assure legitimate rest for workers.  Jesus is well aware of the Sabbath principle but appeals to its higher purpose.  The Sabbath is also for doing good works not evil ones.  In other words, on the Sabbath the people should praise God and wish one another well.  The Pharisees defy this principle by seeking to accuse Jesus of a crime.  On the other hand, Jesus is using the occasion to heal a man who is pathetically deformed.

Today, Labor Day in the United States, provides an occasion to reflect on human work.  Similar issues to the ones raised in the gospel may be examined.  We need to work in order to live, but we do not want work to dominate our lives with no time for family and worship.  We want our work to benefit others as well as ourselves and to cause no one injury. 

Monday, September 1, 2014

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Labor Day)

(I Corinthians 2:1-5; Luke 4:16-30)

Today many young people prefer to receive Holy Communion on the tongue.  A generation ago, most took the host in the hand.  Some of this latter group probably had hygiene in mind, but others were thinking of the dignity of the human hand.  We work with our hands – whether we are bricklayers or brain surgeons.  In a sense work gives the hand its dignity.

We work so that we might eat, of course.  But we also work to give glory to God by making the world a better place to live.  In fact, the worthiness of one’s work may be measured by how much it improves society.  This does not mean that those whose work is humble – an attendant in comparison with a technician – are not significantly benefitting society.  Indeed, done with care, the work of the attendant may make a greater contribution to the human community than the sloppy performance of a genius.  The labor movement has assisted in this effort by training and exhorting women and men to work with pride.

Jesus in the gospel is presented as a worker.  We see him today returning to his hometown where he is known as the son of Joseph, the carpenter.  The Gospel of Mark calls Jesus a carpenter himself.  But he perceives a call to the most worthy work of all.  No more will he be building houses.  Rather, he recognizes that God, his true Father, wants him to proclaim God’s love to the world.

Monday, September 3, 2013

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 4:16-30)

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 cause for reflection, the United States seems to have 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!  Only in recent times has technology delivered many workers from poverty in developed economies.  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 cathedral rendering glory to God or the bricklayer’s apprentices mixing cement to hold its stones together, our work contributes to the advancement 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.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church

(I Corinthians 2:1-5; Luke 4:16-30)

If all "Labor Day¨ means is the last of the summer holidays, then there has been a pitiable loss of significance. More than a day off work, Labor Day celebrates work. It is a time to contemplate the meaning of work and its inherent dignity. Jesus at least intimates as much in today's gospel.

Jesus proclaims "glad tidings to the poor." He does not mean the destitute or the unemployed but the majority of workers at the time who have difficulty meeting family needs. They no longer have to worry for their salvation is at hand. God loves them and will provide for their welfare.

Work, of course, produces much more than money to put food on the table. As importantly, it gives humans an opportunity to participate in divine creation. This may be readily seen in the efforts of builders, scientists, and artists, but it is true of all people who labor. By cooking, selling, or cleaning we make the world a better place by assisting others live full and gracious lives.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Labor Day)

(Colossians 1:24-2:3; Luke 6:6-11)

Aldi’s supermarkets feature low-cost food and fast, friendly service. When asked if the stores would be open on Labor Day, an attendant happily reported “no” Aldi’s stores are closed every holiday and employees are paid for the day off. If we think of Labor Day as an extension of the Sunday rest, we might ask whether the supermarkets’ board of directors have an ally in Jesus.

In the gospel today Jesus defies the scribes and Pharisees who absolutely reject any work on the Sabbath. He presents himself as God’s agent who comes to restore creation to its original goodness. Because correcting physical malady falls under the scope of that restoration, Jesus argues that it cannot be prohibited. This reasoning is hardly legal fancy-footing but represents a commonsense approach to a conundrum created by dedicating a specific day of the week to rest.

The happy coincidence of reading this gospel passage on Labor Day provides additional opportunity to reflect on the nature of work. We work in order to live, but also to create a better society. On the other hand, rest is necessary to replenish energy and to recognize that there are higher purposes in life than making money and shopping. Regular Sunday worship and relaxation serve these exalted purposes. With or without government mandating that everyone do so, we are wise to curb gainful activity on Sundays in favor of faith, family, and even some fun.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

(I Corinthians 5:1-8; Luke 6:6-11)

Although humans pride themselves on intelligence and freedom, we more often behave as creatures of habit. Rather than think about what we do, we usually prefer to act as we always have. Unfortunately, by not thinking we can cause harm or ignore suffering in our midst. Such is the situation of the gospel reading today. The people refuse to challenge the idea that no one can cure on the Sabbath because such a deed, it is presumed, would violate the prohibition against working on the day of rest. Fortunately for the man with the withered hand Jesus thinks differently and acts on his conviction. He assures us that one does not sin by restoring full health on the day that is meant to celebrate life.

Customarily on Labor Day, Americans have their last fling of summer. They fill golf courses and picnic groves or perhaps just stay at home watching tennis. As desirable as recreation and rest may be, Labor Day has a greater purpose. It is a time to thank God for the work that we do five days a week, fifty weeks a year. It is also a fitting occasion to pledge to work more intelligently, like Jesus in today’s gospel, keeping the good of others always in mind.

Homilette for Monday, September 7, 2009

Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Labor Day)

(Colossians 1:24-2:3; Luke 6:6-11)

This year the French government underwent a heated political debate on whether to allow stores to be open on Sunday. For over a hundred years the country’s commerce has been largely curtailed on the traditional day of rest. Recently, however, President Sarkozy and liberal politicians have campaigned for reform to spur France’s flagging economy. They were opposed by a rare coalition of labor advocates and social conservatives who argued that the country could do better than imitate American “commuting, sleeping, and buying.”

Would France’s liberal politicians find an ally in Jesus? In the gospel today Jesus defies the scribes and Pharisees who reject any kind of work on Sunday. But Jesus hardly seems a social a revolutionary for wanting to cure the man with a withered right hand on Sunday. He argues that because restoring life is not human pursuit of profit but God’s work, it cannot be prohibited.

It seems fitting to read a gospel passage dealing with Sabbath observance on Labor Day. Americans have today off not just to rest but to reflect on the value of work. We work in order to live, but also to create a better society. On the other hand, time to rest is necessary to replenish energy and to recognize that there are other, even higher, purposes in life than “commuting, sleeping, and buying.” Sunday worship and relaxation serve these other purposes. With or without government mandate everyone does well to curb activity on this day in favor of faith, family, reflection, and some fun.

Homilette for Monday, September 1, 2008

Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Labor Day)

(Luke 4:16-30)

Americans tend to rest or recreate on Labor Day. Unlike the other two 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 and production quotas. Although political campaigns traditionally begin on Labor Day giving food for thought, the United States has deliberately avoided a May 1 holiday when most of the world meditates on the meaning of work.

An inveterate unionist once boasted that he would organize everyone that worked for a living; that is -- he explained -- everyone who worked except lawyers, bankers, and scabs! Prejudices against different types of labor still exist, but we might include all professions as falling under Adam’s curse that food for the table would be produced only with sweat from the brow. Although some work is certainly easier than other, almost always there is an element of stress, strain, or monotony involved. In the gospel today Jesus announces that he comes to announce a time that is acceptable to all. He is speaking of emancipation from the drudgery of work with a new form of jubilee year.

Jesus’ good news includes the message that work itself is a gift from God. Whether we are the architects of a new cathedral rendering glory to God or bricklayer’s apprentices who mostly mix cement, our work contributes to the improvement of society. It also provides bread for our bellies, roofs 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.

Homilette for Monday, September 3, 2007

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.