Labor Day
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Genesis 2:15
This year, Labor Day falls on September 7, giving us the latest possible opportunity to observe this holiday. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill making the first Monday of September a federal holiday. The day was intended to honor the contributions of the American labor movement and to highlight the work of those who labor in various occupations. It also serves as the unofficial end of the summer season and provides a three-day weekend for rest, relaxation and a final family gathering at the lake.
Labor Day provides a good opportunity for us in the church to reflect upon our labor. Work is one of the ways in which God has ordered our world to bring structure, growth and blessing to his creation. We can observe that work was present in the Garden of Eden before the fall. Work is one of those things that God said was very good.
Work is closely connected to what we in the church sometimes call vocation or calling. It is a way in which God places us into a position to bring blessing to our neighbor. As one of my seminary professors put it, in vocation God gives us “response-ability”, the ability to respond to the needs of society and our neighbor and care for them. God works through our human vocations to provide for his world. The farmer, the truck driver who transports the wheat, the worker at the mill and the baker at the oven are all participants in the process of God giving us our daily bread. And we can add in those who manufacture fertilizers and work at grocery stores and parents who buy bread for their children to this chain of vocations that make it possible for us to sustain and nurture our earthly lives.
Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we know that work is not always pleasant, comfortable and easy. The reality of sin permeates all that we do as human creatures. Yet God has redeemed even work and our vocations as he sent his son, Jesus, the human son of Joseph the carpenter to suffer and to die for the sins of the world. In the cross and in the empty tomb, we find healing, restoration and meaning for life in this world. Our connection with God is assured because of the gift of Christ. Now he sends us into the world to bless and provide for our neighbor through the work that he gives us. So, Paul can encourage the church in Colossae, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24)
May God bless us as we serve others in His name.
Working with you,
Pastor Mark Schumm
