Jesus
said: Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about
your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the
body more than clothing.
And
God we have to admit that life just doesn't seem this simple, and so
we worry.
Isaiah
asks: Why
do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor
for that which does not satisfy?
And
we have to admit that we often have no answer, even while we
recognize the truth of the question.
Paul
said: Anyone
unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are
living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such
persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their
work quietly and to earn their own living.
And
we are forced to name that this attitude has changed our culture, to
the pain and punishment of many who live on our fringes.
God
of life, of love, of labour, on this Labour Day weekend...
Help
us to see how our attitudes toward labour lead us to worry, lead us
to focus on the wrong things in life, may even lead us away from the
path of love and compassion.
God
of grace, in whose grace we live, move and have our being,
through
your ever-present grace lead us in the paths of wisdom and fulfilment
and hope. Amen.
