Wednesday,
May 01, 2019
Joseph, the Worker
1st Reading: Gen 1:26—2:3 (or Col 3:14-15, 17, 23-24)
Gospel: Matthew 13:54-58
Jesus went to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, “Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon and Judas his brothers? Aren’t all his sisters living here? How did he get all this?” And so they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, “The only place where prophets are not welcome is their hometown and in their own family.” And he did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
“Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another,” wrote Anatole France in his work entitled, “Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard”. What makes this maxim striking is the concept of finding relaxation by taking up another work. Most people consider work as a scourge, a source of stress and a kind of condemnation. But work was never intended to be a scourge. God himself worked for six days to create the world, and only rested for one day. Work was a noble task. It was only when sin entered that it became a punishment for our first parents.
But God restored work to its original dignity when the second person of the Trinity, in becoming man, chose to be born to a family of laborers who earned their living by the sweat of their brow. St. Joseph the Worker’s feast today draws importance from the fact that Jesus too embraced his profession as a carpenter. Born on a wooden manger, he spent thirty years with his family working with wood manually, and died at thirty three carrying a wooden cross to Mt. Calvary. Jesus made work part of his identity. He was, in fact, known as “son of a carpenter” to the community. Jesus, thus, restored work to its original dignity, making it the source of salvation to those who work honestly.
Let us respect work then because it is sacred. Drug lords must find decent source of income, and employees must do justice to their employers by working honestly. It is not just about the good name they pass on to their children; it’s really about salvation. Check this out in Luke 3:10-14. When the people asked John the Baptist what they needed to do to gain eternal life, John told them to be honest in their jobs. Tax collectors were to collect only the amount they were supposed to collect, and the soldiers were to avoid extortion.
This way, work will not only be a source of relaxation but also a source of salvation. Let’s do honest work then and glorify God in all that we do. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., D.M.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.