1. We all remember fondly our first job and first paycheck; we felt somehow bigger. We spent the first 20 minutes answering the question, "What was your first job and what did it teach you about the Dignity of work?" Everyone's eyes lit up as they told us about their initial entry into the workforce, often at age 11 or 12. None of the experiences were easy: steel mills, newspaper delivery, restaurants. The common denominator was what that first job taught us about ourselves and our role in the world. We may have been kids, but far from feeling "exploited" we felt grown up, like Mom and Dad. Suddenly, we were contributing to the family's welfare, and learning how to structure our time to accommodate the new schedule. And when we earned that first paycheck, we felt we'd accomplished something that others valued. We felt somehow more whole.
2. God himself is the ultimate worker, and by working at our vocation, we imitate Him. The spectacular reading from Genesis showed God hard at work, creating the world. Moving mountains and seas. Six days straight! No time for social media or Netflix! And He rested on the Sabbath, declaring His work "Good". Created in his image, it is natural, innate, that we too must work to bring to fulfillment the soul he created us to be, " in his image and likeness." Working is literally in our DNA, and being deprived of the opportunity to work in some ways dehumanizes us. Do we think of our work in this way? Do we understand how important the opportunity to work is for those around us, for our kids, as well as for the homeless people out on the streets? In our interactions with the latter, are we helping them find a path to work, to finding the Dignity God created in them, or are we inadvertently encouraging them to not work?
3. Are we respecting the Sabbath? As hard as God worked, and wants us to work, he also rested on the 7th day, the Sabbath. Resting on that day honors Him and the work He's done creating us. It also restores us for the week ahead. Do we respect the Sabbath as we should? If not, is what we are doing instead really worth it in the grand scheme of eternity? Will we be able to explain our dis-respect of the Sabbath to St Peter on the grounds that it truly made the world better? Or did it just make us richer-- than we needed to be?
4. Stewards, not owners. As we considered God's creation of the world and his charge to us to exercise "dominion over it", we discussed what "dominion" meant. For sure, it did not mean "permanent ownership"; only He has that. No, we're simply stewards, charged with overseeing, improving, growing those elements of God's creation within our sphere of influence. Do we think about the things of the world that we've acquired as His, not ours? Do we use them for His kingdom, or for ourselves?
5. Balance is important. As important as work is to becoming the full soul God created us to be, we also reflected on the importance of balance. Working for the sake of working, or for the sake of having more than our neighbors ("comparison is the thief of joy"), can actually destroy the soul, not fulfill it. Balance matters, particularly balance that carves out time for prayer, for talking with God. Are we making time for God, not just on Sundays, but every day? Are we starting the day with morning prayer? Do we have some restorative "J.C." time put aside within our busy workdays? Do we make time for self-reflection and examination, with Him, at night?
Resolution: In the month ahead, we will each seek to encounter a homeless person, recognizing their dignity as a child of God, interacting with them on the street, and doing something to encourage them on a path back towards the Dignity of Work.
Steve
10/10/22
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