Labor Day weekend has always been for me a pleasant but grim reminder of the passage of time. It marks the unofficial end of Summer, which officially ends on September 22nd this year. I am both grateful for a wonderful Summer, and a little sad that it is coming to an end. But Labor Day is about much more than the passage of time. It is “a way of recognizing the contributions of workers in this country and the history of labor in the U.S.,” according to Professor Ahmed White of the University of Colorado. “The first celebrations were in the 1880s. They occurred locally and were organized by workers and unions. These holidays were informal and held in the picnic season at the end of the summer, which is one of the reasons we celebrate Labor Day in September. But it wasn’t made a federal holiday until 1894.” (https://www.colorado.edu/today/2023/08/31/what-labor-day-and-why-do-we-celebrate-it.
Those of us who have jobs which enable us to provide for ourselves and our families can give thanks to God this weekend. Because, as our second reading tells us, “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). But, in addition to our jobs, there is another kind of work we are called to as Christians. St. James continues: “Humbly welcome the Word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the Word and not just hearers only” (1: 22). So, what does it mean to “be doers of the Word”? St. James says this is the way to practice our religion. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (1: 27). So our work is to avoid sin—to remain unstained by the world—but also to care for those who are vulnerable like orphans, widows and all who suffer from any kind of affliction.
Get ready for the teachings of St. James about the purity of our religion. For this and the next four weekends we will be hearing excerpts from his New Testament letter. St. James teaches that “The truth of the Gospel is meant to penetrate into every area of our lives, a word not merely heard, but one that effects transformation and leads to concrete action,” writes Daniel Seseske. In his introduction to this letter Seseske writes, “Reading the Letter of James is like standing before a mirror, allowing us the opportunity to reflect on what a life of fidelity to the Gospel truly looks like—and to see the stark contrast with the ways of the culture in which we live.” (The Word on Fire Bible: Acts, Letters and Revelation; 2022, Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, p. 602.)
On this Labor Day weekend, the Word of God is calling us not to rest but to “do the work” of our religion: to avoid sin and to love our neighbors in need. In the context of our parish mission, we are called to accompany our neighbors to the Heart of Jesus. We may sometimes wonder why our neighbors do not join us and embrace our faith. Perhaps Bartolomé de las Casas was correct in his assessment: “There is no other reason why… unbelievers refuse to embrace our faith than the fact that we deny them with our conduct what we offer them with our words” (quoted by Daniel Seseske in article mentioned above).
Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall let us live our religion with a practical love that lightens the labor of everyone around us.