Homily for Ordinary Time 33
November 12, 2022
Work At It
The American
West frequently sees annual forest fires, but the 1949 Mann Gulch fire in
Montana was surprisingly severe. Thirteen firefighters died fighting the blaze.
Why was it so deadly? This is what author Norman Maclean wanted to find out. He
felt moved, at the age of seventy-four, to begin researching and writing about
the story of this fire, why it was so deadly, and how to prevent them in the
future.
His
peers thought he was crazy. After all, they were retiring and living the good
life in Florida – why would Norman need to research and write about this well
into his eighties? His research required thousands of hours of interviews,
scientific studies, and even hikes into the brutal and desolate wilderness of
Mann Gulch – why bother doing this when he could be golfing or playing
shuffleboard?
He wrote
about his drive to research and write about this fire, even in his eighties
with poor health: “I sat in my study, making clear to myself, my homespun
anti-shuffleboard philosophy of what to do when I was old enough to be
scripturally dead. I wanted this extension of life to be as hard as before, but
also something new that I haven’t done before, like writing stories.” His book
“Young Men and Fire”, published posthumously, was not only a work of art (the
New York Times calling it “a magnificent drama of writing”) but also an
important advancement of fire science, hopefully leading to safer ways to fight
forest fires.
Norman
Maclean understood the true value of work! It wasn’t just a way to pass the
time or earn a paycheck, it was much, much more than that: a chance to do
something good for humanity and to develop his talents, finding meaning in a
life lived in self-giving.
St. Paul
instructs us about work in today’s second reading, and since most of us spend
eight hours a day doing it, it’s worth reflecting on the Christian value of
work.
Our
modern culture sees work according to two extremes. On one hand, many people
become workaholics and see their entire identity wrapped up in their work –
working seventy, ninety hours a week, and seeing themselves (and others) only
in terms of what they can produce. On the other hand, some see work as just a
means to an end – a drudgery that we need to get through so that we can get a
paycheck and enjoy the weekend.
But, as
Aristotle taught, virtue is in the middle. As Christians we see work as a
necessary part of our dignity as human beings – even Jesus spent 30 years of
His life as a common laborer. Work helps us to develop ourselves as persons, to
grow in virtue and self-dignity, and to serve the needs of the community. Let’s
pull that apart and see what it means.
First,
work develops us as human beings. If I am a scientist or a lawyer, a teacher or
a stay-at-home parent, whatever work we do challenges us daily to learn new
things, to grow, to hone our skills, and to do it to the best of our ability.
Work, then, ennobles us and helps us to become “the best version of ourselves”
by developing our talents.
But we
don’t just develop our talents, we develop virtue. If we run a shop, we have to
be patient with customers who can be frustrating. We practice teamwork in our
collaboration, perseverance when we work on a difficult project, humility when
we are praised…or when we fail. Pope St. John Paul II, in 1981, wrote an entire
encyclical letter about work called Laborem Exercens. In it, he wrote this
awesome line: “Work is a good thing for man, because through work, man not only
transforms nature, but he also transforms himself.”
Finally,
work is always about serving others. When we cook dinner for our kids, it is as
if we are serving Christ Himself. When we answer the phone at our job, we must
realize that the person on the other end of the line is a soul that Christ died
to save. So, in a sense, labor always puts love into action.
So with
all of this dignity that we receive from work, it can be detrimental to the
human person to merely give someone a handout, either from a charity or from
the government. Some have suggested that governments should provide a
“Universal Basic Income” while others advocate for an expansion of welfare.
While that might solve short-term problems, it prevents people from benefitting
from a good day’s work, and it prevents society from benefitting from the gifts
and talents of the laborer.
Now,
with all that said, work is not an end in itself. I studied in Italy for a year
and it was utterly maddening to find that all of the shops closed between 1-4pm
as they took their siesta! I thought it was no way to run a successful
business! But they had the right idea – they worked to live, they didn’t live
to work. Even God rested on the seventh day, to show us that if we wish to be
Godly, we need to take times of recreation.
Finally,
even if we are retired or unable to work, we still have “work” to do! We are
called to pray, to volunteer at the parish or at a charity, and to show
generous service to our spouse and kids and grandkids. We all have a mission in
life – and the mission isn’t seeing how comfortable we can make our own
lives, but how much we can give.
Is there
a patron saint of work? There are many saints who had to labor, but perhaps
none more than St. Isidore the Farmer. From Spain in the 1100s, Isidore and his
wife were tenant farmers who were well-known for their piety and generosity.
Their landlord once complained that Isidore was praying too much, so he went to
go check on him in the field to see if he was praying or plowing – and much to
his surprise he didn’t see Isidore (who was at Mass) but rather saw a team of
angels plowing the ground in his place! Isidore and his wife would share the
fruits of their labor with the hungry of the town – one time, Isidore brought
home a large crowd of homeless people. His wife tried to serve all of them but
completely emptied out the pot of stew. Isidore told her to go and check one
more time, and to her surprise the pot had miraculously filled up again! By
uniting his prayer with his labor, Isidore became a great saint…by the sweat of
his brow!
Whatever
your work, do it for the Lord, and it will make you holy.
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