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by Rev. Fr. V.V. Paulose, Toronto, Canada
"He’s just the carpenter, the son of Mary.” (Mark 6:3)
Do physical labour and keep away the Doctor!
Man is entitled to do physical labour and live long. "In toil you shall eat of
it all the days of your life” (Genesis 3:19). God commanded, "Six days you shall
labour and do all your work” (Exodus 20:10). The medical science prescribes diet
and physical exercise are the best medicine for all sicknesses. Do hard work
with your body and eat well, sleep well, behave well and have a disease-free
body. This is fully applicable for all the social, economic, political and even
the spiritual ills of the world.
All works are sacred and the workers are in the Ministry of God and they are the
co-creators and co- producers of God. Those who do not work are the parasites of
the society and they are not supposed to eat. "Anyone who refuses to work should
not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The rest is only for those who labour. "Come
unto me ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mathew
11:28).
Physical labour is an important social learning experience for a healthy
spiritual society. If everybody does this social engineering work as a mission
religiously, we can avoid most of the gyms, hospitals and social problems of the
modern day even economic depression, unemployment and spiritual fallout. We
should cultivate and instil in the minds of the budding generation to respect
physical labour and its glory.
Wojtyla, later John Paul II, the most popular Pope, started his career as a
blue-collar worker in Solvay Enterprises, a German chemical manufacturing
company. This job involved heavy manual labour, sometimes having to work in
freezing cold weather. Although it was physically exhausting, Wojtyla later
recognized it as an important social learning experience for him.
He worked in the Zakrozowek quarry, his job was to dig out limestone blocks that
were used to produce caustic soda. During the cruel winter of 1940, each day his
job took him to the bottom of the pit. There he filled rail cars with limestone
blocks. Sometimes he acted as a brakeman for the tram cars or laid new small
gauge tracks. Later his job was to set explosives on the rocks and then detonate
them. He was helpful, friendly, hardworking and very religious. At noon, when he
heard the church bells ring out, he used to stand still for a few moments beside
the trays of explosives and pray. Till he died, he was the eloquent proponent of
the greatness of physical labour.
“Those who are stealing must stop stealing and start working. They should earn
an honest living for themselves. Then they will have something to share with
those who are poor” (Ephesians 4:28).
Jesus, let us understand the greatness of physical labour. We pray for all the workers of the world and bread winners of our homes. Lord, provide jobs for those who are willing to do work. Keep way unemployment from our homes. We remember the days on earth when you worked as a carpenter. May all those who do physical hard labour be blessed. All we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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