Labor Day

Dear friends in Christ, and His children through the cross,

September begins each year with the commemoration of Labor Day. Even though Labor Day sometimes becomes no more than an extra day off of work, it was originally intended as a way of honoring the workers of the nation and recognizing that their work is a valuable contribution to society.

At the time of Martin Luther, 500 years ago, it was thought to be more holy if a person hid away in a monastery rather than learning a trade and working. Working for a living was not necessarily looked down upon, but becoming a monk or a nun was certainly seen as a higher status than common work on a farm or in a shop. Those who entered the monasteries did minimal work and often lived on church resources or the donations of other citizens. Instead of working to provide for their own needs, they attended seven or more church services daily, prayed, and engaged in other activities which were intended to make them holy, even beating themselves and undergoing other penitential acts to attempt to make up for their sins.

After leaving the monastery, Martin Luther often criticized this way of life in His writings. Through studying the Scriptures, particularly the book of Romans, he realized that it was not his own efforts which could make him holy. It was only through trust in Jesus that a person can be forgiven by God. This resulted in a different outlook on work for Luther and those he taught. Knowing God’s grace, he came to see work, not as a lesser way of life, but as an honorable and god-pleasing thing.

We call this idea the “doctrine of vocation,” and it is one of the most distinctive aspects of Lutheranism among the world’s Christians. In the large catechism and in other places, Luther often commented that a woman changing a diaper or a man plowing a field is doing a far greater thing in God’s sight than a monk who suffers and prays the entire day.

As Christians, our labor is not merely a means to earn wealth or a necessary evil which must be endured to survive. Instead, it is an activity which we approach joyfully as followers of Jesus, knowing that it is blessed by God and pleasing in His sight.

[St. John's Messenger, September 2009]