Work - participation of self in the Divine nature for the other!

THE WORD AND THE FEAST

May 1, 2021: The Feast of St. Joseph, the Worker

Genesis 1:26 - 2:3; Matthew 13: 54-58

Work is an essential self-expression of human persons. It is a way I see myself extended to things,  persons and reality around. That is why, every work that we do should have three dimensions to it, making it truly holistic! On a day such as today, it is right that we dwell on this aspect of work and in a time when situation around is so abnormal and crisis stricken, the reflection has its real value. Let us reflect on those dimensions and then a specific signficance during these days.

The First dimension is, the Self: Work is a self expression of the one who is involved. Everything that I do, should become part of what I am. I should be able to see at the end of the work, in the outcome, a bit of me. The beautiful example is given in the first reading today, where we see God at work and at the end of it all, God found that it was good; God found that God was present in the works that God had created. Hence the question is, in every work that I do, do I do it only for a remuneration or do I find a self-fulfilment in it?

The Second dimension is, the Other: Work should add to the common good. Every work of mine should add to the common good in some way or the other, directly or indirectly. A carpenter for example is someone who expresses his or her self in a product that would serve the common good; or a sculptor or an engineer or a teacher. Looking at work only in terms of gain and profit, or looking at other's work as merely something that can be bought and paid for, is opposed to the ontological significance of work itself. 

The Third dimension is, God, the author of all work: Work should be a participation in the divine design, the eternal plan, the creative mission of God. The psalm brings out the crux of it, invoking the Lord to give success to the work of our hands. It is in the eternal plan that our work draws its meaning and success. At work, we partake in our role as co-creators with God the Creator! Work therefore is something divine that we have within us to express - how different it is in today's economised world!

Having said all this: let us ask a question. How many of us are involved in a work, an occupation, a livelihood that reflects all these 3 dimensions? Where is the place of "money" within this grand picture of 3 dimensions? Are our thoughts about our work and our calculations about out career, fitting into this framework? Or have we moved far far away from any such holistic thought pattern?

Finally, reflecting in the time of pandemic... work is one of the crucial elements of the crisis. People are looking at the economic fallouts of this pandemic and becoming ready to sacrifice even the life of human persons in order to safeguard a so-called ecnomic stability! The most fundamental philosophical question is: is work for persons or persons for work; is economy for humanity or humanity for economy? Somewhere we have lost our clarity on priorities and we are today ready to sacrifice humanity for economy - how devilish this sounds! 

May St. Joseph inspire us to have the right understanding of work and help us to look at work as a loving participation in the nature of God, for the sake of the other, in and through the expression oneself towards fullness of life.