Happy Labor Day! Although this is not a religious feast day, we should take time to give thanks to God for the gift of labor. I know that may sound odd, but the ability to work truly is a gift from God. Adam and Eve while in the paradise of the Garden of Eden before the Fall would have worked. They were to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen 1:28). Also, Adam needed a “helpmate” (Gen 2:18), so apparently there was work to be done and he needed help! It would originally have been a true joy to have engaged in work. Work only becomes difficult and burdensome because of sin. God said after Adam and Eve sinned, “Cursed is the ground because of you! In toil you shall eat its yield all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you, and you shall eat the grass of the field. By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread.” (Genesis 3:17–19)
But remember that is not the end of the story! Jesus comes into our world and redeems us from sin. Jesus worked. We might forget that. He surely worked beside his earthly foster-father, St. Joseph, as a carpenter. In fact, Jesus spent far more of his life working than in his ministry. Jesus spent only his last three years in ministry (age 30-33), whereas most of his earlier years would have been spent largely working. And by Christ’s cross and resurrection, he makes all things new, including labor! So today when we live in Christ, our work can have great dignity and meaning and can be done as an offering to God. We might even find joy in doing so! But let us pray for all those for whom their labor is burdensome, for all those unable to work who wish to do so, for all those unemployed or under-employed and unable to find meaningful work, especially during this pandemic
So let us both labor and rest in Jesus. “Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment.…” (Colossians 3:23–24)