Jesus was a laborer.  We can imagine that—especially after the death of Joseph—he spent much of his life in honest labor working with his hands and serving his community by his daily efforts.  The thought of him bringing a practiced eye and a disciplined muscle to his tasks can give him another type of place in our vision of his ministry among us.  Just as many of the apostles were fishermen and Paul was a tentmaker, we can place Jesus within his society as a carpenter.  In entering the created order, Jesus carried out the care and manipulation of the world just as so many of his brothers and sisters before him.  It is part of the human task.

Going back to the beginning of the human story, we know that the first woman and man were entrusted with an important role.  They were to bring forth life!  The woman was given the task of bringing life into the world through her body.  The man was to bring forth life through his tending of the soil.  Labor (in both senses of the word) was not a punishment imposed on the human community but a part of the human dignity and a connection with what God had made.  It was only after the first sin that these became difficult—a toiling (Gen 3:16, 17):

To the woman [God] said:
I will intensify your toil in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children. . . .

To the man God said: . . .
Cursed is the ground because of you!
In toil you shall eat its yield
all the days of your life.

Yet caring for the earth and its people remained one of the dignities of humankind and one of our responsibilities.

As we celebrate Labor Day, our thoughts can be drawn back to this origin story and to the story of Jesus.  The Church and our Popes have written numerous documents that emphasize the importance of work and its connection to social justice as well as human dignity.  For example:

“It is clear from the very first pages of the Bible that work is an essential part of human dignity; there we read that ‘the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it’ (Gen 2:15). Man is presented as a laborer who works the earth, harnesses the forces of nature and produces ‘the bread of anxious toil’ (Ps 127:2), in addition to cultivating his own gifts and talents. Labor also makes possible the development of society and provides for the sustenance, stability and fruitfulness of one’s family, . . .” (Pope Francis, “The Joy of Love” [Amoris Laetitia], nos. 23-24)

We believe that work is an intimate part of our nature and one of the ways in which we contribute to the human community as well as to the beauty of creation.

On our Labor Day, we thank the Lord for the strength and wisdom that has been given to us to work for ourselves, our families, and our communities.  May we treat all those who work with dignity and share with them the fruits of our labors and creation.  It is an attitude that would have made much sense to Vincent de Paul.