God did get a precious day off! He worked quite hard all week Here is how it happened:
"And God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.'
So God crated humankind in his image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he crated them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ari and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.' God said, 'See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food'... And it was o. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was the evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work htat he ahd done, and he rested from all the work that he had done in creation." Genesis 1:26-2:3.
So, that is why God needed a day off on the first Sabbath...the Seventh Day. Did God work very hard that He needed a day off? Well, for sure that was "labor intensive". He surely deserved a day off...but what is really at issue here is: Did He enjoy His work? Absolutely..because the Latin says: "Ubi est amore; non est labor!" "Where there is Love, there is no labor." When the Artist God creates, He enjoys His work. When we create, we enjoy it too; but what we create - no matter how beautiful - is not alive. When God creates, it is alive...He made us..who are alive....Jesus said: "God is a God of the living not of the dead. All are alive for Him!"
God creates, and we create. Adam and Eve were creative in the Garden of Eden. They arranged things as they wished. God delighted to see them work in the garden. Work was not at all any kind of punishment. They were working from the time the were created...God said for them to "tend the garden." Only after the fall, their work became laborious and sweaty. There was still some joy of creativity and feeling of accomplishment but they got tired and the ground did not yield its produce as abundantly as it did in the Garden..the ground was better in the Garden..or the earth was more in harmony with mankind in the Garden...Animals in the Garden, did not eat each other. They were vegetarian..but after the fall, there were predators. Things were out of harmony.
Today, we celebrate Labor Day..and how do we celebrate it? Of course: with a Day Off! That is fitting since God had a Day Off, too. We are so much like God. We - like kids - do what we see our Parents doing!
Work is part of the blessing of God for us and integral to the Catholic Church's teaching of the Sacredness of Work. In 8181, Pope............wrote "Rerum Novarum" that confirmed Church teahing of the sacredness of work and the sacredness of the workers who had the right to own private property, right to a fair wage and safe working conditions. There subsequent Popes cited this Encyclical: Pope Pius XII, Pope Jhn XXIII, and Blessed Pope John Paul II. Even Pope Benedict XVI has cited "Rerum Novarum" in his encyclical: "Caritas et Veritate". Thus, from the original "Rerum Novarum" comes concepts of fairness in the work place, rights of workers and fairness for not only workers but for employers: most of all for the right to employment.
Thus we all have the right to ask God as did the Psalmist: "Bless the work of our hands!"...and "The fruit of your labor you shall eat..." And in the Mass, the priest prayers: "Accept this our gifts: the work of our hands and the fruit of the vine." We offer to God what Abel did. And God was pleased with Abel's gift of the first fruits of the field as He is with out gifts of bread and wine at Mass - which symbolizes our labor of our life and which God takes and makes divine...makes them into the Body and Blood of His Son, Jesus, to be our Food from heaven. And Jesus said: "Take and eat; for this is my Body. Take and drink, for this is my Blood." Is not Jesus mirroring the Father's Creativity? Jesus even said: "My Father works; and I work." He also said, "believe on the works I have done." Jesus was no slouch. He worked. Mel Gibson's Passion of Christ had one delightful scene of Jesus making a tall table with tall chairs. In those days, Jews and Roman reclined at table. But here in this scene, Jesus is inventing a tall table where you can sit down. Mary is a little skeptical as to its catching on by the public..but Jesus demonstrates how to sit down because Mary asks him how people will be able to reach such a tall table. Jesus shows her...all is done with a merry mood because creativity is festive. True creativity is from God, in God, for God and reflects God.
My favorite feast to celebrate work is not so much Labor Day but rather the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1. St. Joseph was called in the Greek text a "texton" - construction worker - so, Joseph not only worked in wood but in stone, too. He spent a hidden life and did not have one word recorded by any Gospel writer. Jesus spent 30 years with His foster-dad, Joseph, to show that hidden domestic family life was very Holy onto to God. Imagine, Jesus spent 30 years at home and only 3 years at His true job - redeeming mankind. So, work - manual work - is very sacred indeed. Jesus loved to work...and that is why he did such a good job redeeming all of us! Now we need to work for Him and give Him all the work we do by uniting it all to His redemptive work. We can offer our work for the conversion of sinners! WORK IS REDEMPTIVE!
Eventhough we all need a day off: God did to show us to rest at the end of a work week. God was by resting being a Dad to show us to rest from our labor and make one day Holy Unto the Lord, the Sabbath..that now the Church celebrates on Sunday, the first day of the week when He arose from the dead - the completion of His work..and then entrusting the work to us..to St. Peter and all the apostles..and to us His new apostles.
I saw a cute cartoon: two "bums" were sitting on a park bench; they looked unshaven and wearing shabby clothes. One looks at the other and says: "The downside of this life is that you can never take a break!"
So, if we did not have work, we would be like them and not be able to take a break from a life of break. If we lived a life without work, we would not be sharing out talents with the world. The world needs ALL of us.
Father, thank you for our work...and for our talents and creativity, for all the satisfaction of our work and creations. Take all we do in word or labor or any good deed for the kingdom and bless it, consecrate it to Yourself..so that we can join You in Your re-creating the World. Help all men and women or unemployed and give them courage to know that their prayer is a work..because when Jesus could not move at all - when He could not move his hands for feet, that only then He was doing His greatest work. In Jesus' Name, we pray. Amen.
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