Saturday of the Second Week of Easter
A great deal can be said about work and labor in life. Work is indeed essential to living a good life and giving of our best selves to the World. There is one caveat to working. It’s not everything. We work to live. We don’t live to work. How often you see people who are always on their feet running from one thing to another. You probably know the type. This is the person who can’t even rest for a moment, the workaholic who rushes other people and doesn’t really accomplish anything in the end.
Work is not meant to supplant basic human living. The best work advice I ever heard was to take the time for the “work” that really mattered. Spend time with your family. Take a day off if you’re always on call. Reconnect with old friends. Pray in silence to connect with God. The most important things are those human connections, the moments we cherish with those we love. Companies will replace their employees and firms look to make a profit. It has to be said. We don’t work our way to Heaven. Work must be seen in its proper context.
The Twelve thought it wasn’t right to “neglect the Word of God to serve at table.” This doesn’t mean they didn’t want to work. It means they wanted to focus on what was most essential.
This Saturday in the Easter season is a good reminder of that. The Easter season is not over. It lasts seven weeks and runs for roughly 50 days. This is a good time to celebrate. Graduations happen, work assignments change. This is a time for gratitude. The pandemic isn’t over, yet vaccines are being widely distributed. Great things are happening. Celebrate the things that matter most. Work at the things that you don’t find at work. Make life happen.
Reflection Question: There is always a time to wait and a time to rest. Pray for the Holy Spirit to grant you the interior peace you need to rest at the proper times.
Reflection by Br. Matthew Marie, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections