Good morning, and Happy Labor Day. This holiday is when much of the country celebrates:
- a day off from work,
- the last hurrah of summer,
- plenty of sales in stores and online,
- lots of barbequing,
- and for those fashionistas who grew up in the north, no more wearing white after this day!
However, in 1882, the Central Labor Union of New York City, who originated this day, envisioned something very different for it. The first Labor Day became a celebration of the working people who endured the tough times of the Industrial Revolution. 20,000 laboring men, women and children actually took a day off from work and gave up their wages, something unheard of, to march through the city streets in parades and then gather for picnics. History was made that day.
The Labor Union wanted to recognize not only the worth of the worker, but the dignity of work, the value it gives to society, and bring to light the unjust working conditions of the laborers.
- They wanted to reduce work time, which for most people then was typically 10-12 hours a day, 6 days a week.
- They brought attention to the working conditions, which were unsafe, dangerous, and often led to deadly accidents.
- They focused on the common practice of child labor. Rural boys, many under 14 years old, worked in mines breaking up coal. Urban boys worked as newspaper carriers, and in many towns, mills and glass factories regularly employed boys and girls ages 4-12 years old.
And even though Congress declared Labor Day an official holiday in 1894, the work of reforming these unjust labor practices continued.
Our church spoke up as well, advocating for change during these tumultuous times. Pope Leo XIII gave us enduring work ethic principles in his prophetic 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum. The Church and labor unions struggled together for social and economic justice.
Finally, as a result of arduous efforts, shorter workweeks came about for workers, the minimum wage was increased, child labor was legally eliminated, safety laws were initiated, and health and insurance benefits began. To our ancestors who worked so hard to bring about these workplace changes which we enjoy today, we say a humble thank you. They are our witnesses to what has now been established as one of the 7 themes of Catholic Social Teaching: the dignity of work and the rights of the worker. We believe that work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation.
How different the world of work looks today than it did then. Machines have replaced workers, technology and the keyboard are the new workplace for many, and finance, production, trade and labor are no longer local but global. Yet, the value of the worker still stands.
On this Labor Day, 2024, we come here to reflect not only on the dignity of all work, but as people of faith, how do our everyday labors mesh with God’s plan and purpose? Whether we’re a compensated employee, a homemaker, a faithful volunteer sharing one’s skills and talents for others, or retired (some say ‘rewired’), we all have been called by our baptism to work for the kingdom of God. That’s the most important job we’ll ever have and the most significant labor we’ll ever do.
Just for a moment, look at your hands; wiggle those fingers and think of all they've done in your life. Those hands have:
- held babies, painted walls, washed dishes, served meals,
- dressed children, cleaned homes, dug in the dirt,
- trimmed bushes, helped the elderly, written letters,
- graded papers, taken temperatures, and given hugs, etc.
And now at Mass our hands come together in prayer to offer bread and wine, the fruit of the earth, the work of our hands, which will become for us the bread of life. Here we are nourished to be active co-creators with God, building God’s kingdom in our world by our physical and spiritual works.
So, now that you’ve thought about your hands, think about when you began your first job. How old were you? What did you do? How did you get that work?
Like all of us, Jesus also had a beginning of his life’s work, his job, his sacred ministry, and we heard about it in our gospel. After spending preparation time in the desert, he returned home to Nazareth where he grew up. Up until now, he was only recognized as Mary and Joseph’s son, a local young man.
Jesus goes to the synagogue on the sabbath to worship, as was customary. When he stood up, someone hands him the scroll to read. Think about that moment. Whoever that person was has just used his own hands to give to Jesus the prophetic words of Isaiah, words which this carpenter’s son will soon publicly claim as his life’s work. He, Jesus, will begin to heal and preach, bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, let the oppressed go free, and proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
When he said, “Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing”, Jesus boldly proclaimed himself as the anointed of God, the fulfillment of hundreds of years of Old Testament prophesies. There must have been stunned silence in the synagogue at that moment.
What is the message of all this for us this Labor Day? Simply, it is to remember.
- To remember that Jesus’ anointed call to the downtrodden is part of our baptismal call, too, and that includes the working poor.
- To gratefully remember that work conditions have changed for the better since 1894, but not for all.
- To remember that presently there are employment opportunities for many to have fair living wages for their families, but not for all.
- To remember that in our day, people still live on the margins of life, are unseen in society, are struggling to survive.
- To remember that as Jesus handed that scroll back to the attendant in that synagogue long ago, he continues to hand on the work of building up the kingdom of God to us. We are to be Christ and share Christ.
Whatever our hands can do to reach out and help others, including bringing glad tidings to the poor, will be a labor of love and a blessing for the common good. Today we pray for the graces we need to carry on the work of Jesus for God’s kingdom.
Finally, one last thing to remember. Knowing that at the heart of every work we do as believers must be love, and that it is love which values the dignity of the worker and their work, here is a simple but powerful quote to remember by the poet Khalil Gibran: “Work is love made visible.”
