Day in the Life…Work!
September 3, 2010
I admit it, I’m old enough to remember an early 1960’s television program called, “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.” Dwayne Hickman’s character was the best friend of Maynard G. Krebs, whom the generations probably know better in his later character of Gilligan (yes, Bob Denver). Maynard was a beatnik, a term which seems like such a relic… I know, I know. One of Maynard G. Krebs’ several proclivities was his aversion to work. The mere mention of “work” brought an immediate reaction from him–the utter shock of the word had him exclaiming though a shudder, “work!.”
Monday is Labor Day, and with apologies to Maynard G. Krebs, it’s all about work, and honoring those who do it. Our opening prayer today is a way to remember all who labor, especially those who are largely hidden from view, providing everything from our food to our diverse infrastructures. I include here a passage from The United Methodist Discipline, from our “social principles” (at the bottom are other areas addressed by our social principles).
163 We claim all economic systems to be under the judgment of God no less than other facets of the created order. Therefore, we recognize the responsibility of governments to develop and implement sound fiscal and monetary policies that provide for the economic life of individuals and corporate entities and that ensure full employment and adequate incomes with a minimum of inflation. We believe private and public economic enterprises are responsible for the social costs of doing business, such as employment and environmental pollution, and that they should be held accountable for these costs. We support measures that would reduce the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We further support efforts to revise tax structures and to eliminate governmental support programs that now benefit the wealthy at the expense of other persons. (Paragraph 163, 2008 Discipline, Abingdon, Nashville)
Property| Collective Bargaining | Work and Leisure | Consumption | Poverty | Migrant Workers | Gambling| Family Farms| Corporate Responsibility| Trade and Investment
As one looks at this list of other things the social principles address, note how many of them relate to work…wow.
When Methodists were still divided over race, it was the northern branch that, in 1908, first developed a set of social principles. They were bold to decry child labor, to challenge employers to let workers rest one day in seven, and to take a stand against what they called the system of “sweating”–today’s sweatshops are the rightful heirs of that system. Theirs was also an early faith community voice raised on behalf of the right to organize and bargain collectively.
As we give thanks for workers and stand up for the rights of workers, both here and around the world, we stand not only on their shoulders, but on those of John Wesley. It was his bold leadership that first turned the tide so that children did not have to work seven days a week, but could have a day of learning. Yes, that was the birth of the Sunday school.
On Labor Day, 2010, I’m proud to be in that number. The work of protecting laborers is not finished. May that, too, by a work to which we are called.
Pastor Steve