The Dignity of Work

"We urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more, and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you." 1 Thess 4: 10-11

Paul's insistence that the Thessalonians work with their own hands would have been a great challenge to the Greeks. In societies that countenanced slavery, only slaves worked with their hands. The work of the mind for Greeks and the study of Torah for Jews were viewed as much more important than anything one could do with one's hands, but Paul cannot forget the story of Jesus kneeling to wash the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. Washing feet was the work of slaves! If Jesus took the role of a slave, no matter how much Peter resisted the gesture, then Christians had to reimagine what it meant to be faithful to Jesus and his Good News.

John Paul II wrote extensively about work in his encyclical Laborem Exercens, but the Pope's letter was merely a bringing together of one of he great themes of his pontificate. In homily after homily, he wrote powerfully about work. "Work is good for us. Through work we not only transform nature, adapting it to our needs, but we also achieve fulfillment as human beings and indeed in a sense become more human."(Monterey, California, September 1987) And when visiting Sydney, Australia John Paul wrote, "It must be said over and over again that work is for man, (sic) not man for work…The worker is always more important than profits and machines."(Sydney, Australia, November 1986)

Most important for us to remember, Popes and other world leaders write so extensively about the dignity of work and workers because in too many places, even in the United States, working with one's hands is seen as something for poor people to do and workers are too often underpaid and under appreciated. Jesus embraced the role of the slave and all the work slaves did. So must we.

Today, get your hands dirty.

Whose work most influenced your understanding of the dignity of work and the power of the Gospel?