September 6, 2004: Labor Day

It’s a wonderful thing for our two parishes — Holy Family and St. Paul’s — to join together this morning for this joint Labor Day Mass. Sometimes we forget that we’re all members of the same Mystical Body of Christ. There’s no dotted line through Our Lord’s belly button, separating the northern part of Danville from the south! We’re all the sons and daughters of God, so it’s great to be able to worship together on this national holiday.

When you think about it, we also shouldn’t draw a dotted line to separate our lives into the times we work and the times we have off. Work and leisure both come from the hand of God, and both, therefore, are good.

That means that work is not something bad… not a “necessary evil.” Our labor is actually a gift from God which allows us to become co-creators with God of our world. Work is a precious means to let us be productive and creative. What’s more, it is also a road to holiness.

But like all things in our world, work easily becomes corrupted and oppressive. After all, there is plenty of sin and evil in the world. Why should we be surprised to find it in the workplace, too?

Throughout history, people have tried many different approaches to work.

The world found out, for example, that there is no workers’ paradise under Communism. We learned that the classic version of socialism doesn’t work either. And we’ve also found out that unrestrained capitalism is also an evil. Just look around. You and I know what happens when people max out their credit cards… when couples have to work two and three jobs to pay for all the toys and possessions they can’t live without. And we remember how famous businesses like Enron or Arthur Andersen — or famous businesspeople like Martha Stewart — fell hard when they were caught in unbridled greed.

Another evil in our world of labor has to do with so much imbalance. Here in the United States, the CEOs and other top managers and Board members of large corporations are paid obscenely large salaries in comparison to the wages of workers. No one begrudges corporate management excellent compensation. But there has to be a relationship between workers’ wages, productivity and job security — or the whole thing begins to unwind. I’m sure you heard the news recently that something like 34 million Americans in the work force have no health insurance. That is a national scandal.

As Christian people, we cry out for social justice for all. We believe that social justice is more important than any particular economic system, and in fact, it must be one of the main motivating factors of any nation’s economy.

Today, on this Labor Day, as we celebrate the working persons of our country, it is an excellent time for us to renew our dedication to social justice, to the rights of every person to a decent standard of living and pay; to peace and harmony among management, labor and capital; and to a passionate concern for the dignity of every precious human being.

For sure, we can and must pray for these things. We also pray that employers will look with compassion and empathy on the men and women who work for them so faithfully and diligently — and to take to heart their true needs and dignity. We must also remember all those who are out of work but who have a lot to offer and want to work. May our good and gracious God guide them to new and fulfilling opportunities.

Those of us who are the employers also have a deeper responsibility: not just to pray, but also to find practical ways to put these ideals into practice. We are brothers and sisters in Christ, and we’ve got to treat our family members better!

On this national day of celebration and rest, may God bless you and fill you with His peace and joy. Amen!