Labor can mean many different things:
1. The pain women endure to be the bearers of life.
2. The work done to bring in a harvest.
3. The history of workers standing together against unfair practices.
Freely chosen, it can be the source of some of our greatest joys. Forced, or withheld, it can break our backs or spirit.
In a one of a kind essay of the Old Testament, king Solomon poetically and rhythmically leads us through the dark shadows that caused him to painfully ask: “What do people get for all their hard work under the sun?” (Ecc 1:1-3)
More than a few of us have asked the same question. To our loss we have failed to see how the worship of the first day of the week relates to the work of the rest.
Might be a good time to compare notes on what we are learning about the hours that consume most of our lives. The labor of doing work, or looking for employment, or caring for those we love without any thought of weekly compensation.
Does it bother us that those who work the hardest, often do so with the least recognition or compensation? Have wise mentors helped us develop a theology of work? Or do we see it only as a part of the curse?
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