Labour Day as a Holy Day

 

Not long ago we were in a big chain store and while Ruth moved through the check-out line I went for coffees at the fast-food place within the building. I realized that only one of the seven workers was white and the accent of the friendly person at the counter suggested she was originally from South Asia. When I walked back to find Ruth I saw that the person overseeing the self-checkout and all the cashiers but one had various shades of brown skin. Here in Belleville this is the case in many stores and for most of the people who deliver parcels. There is a college in the city where a high percentage of students are from South Asian countries and lots of them find part-time jobs to pay their bills. 

I commented on this to Ruth and noted the political turmoil these days about the number of permits for temporary foreign workers and foreign students at post-secondary institutions. We know that there are abuses of those who come to Canada to do the jobs most of us have never wanted to do. We aren't sure what to do about all the students and plenty of Canadians resent their presence, even though the institutions are happy to take their money and they labour away in positions such as those I describe here. 

This is Labour Day in North America although it doesn't seem as though many Canadians consider this as much more than the long weekend before kids go back to school. Labour Day was first recognized as a statutory public holiday in Canada on the first Monday in September since 1894. However, the origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to numerous local demonstrations and celebrations in earlier decades.In those days this was literally a matter of life and death.  

Ealier in my lifetime Labour Day parades were a big deal, often organized by unions. Even though many people are hard pressed to pay the bills there isn't much interest in honouring the tradition. 

I did preach about the spiritual aspects of meaningful work with reasonable pay a few times on Labour Day weekends, but there weren't many people in attendance on those Sundays! 

Do we need to explore the injustice of the widening gap between rich and poor, the effects of the gig economy, the issues of immigration to fill the labour gap? 

Jesus did offer a couple of parables about reward for work but they were among his most confusing rather than offering clarity. As a happily retired guy I'm inclined to lie down until the feeling goes away but as a Christian I know better.