September 4-5, 2010
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Labor Day Weekend
Wisdom 9:13-18 Paul to Philemon 9-10, 12-17 Luke 14:25-33
While the September sun still blazes, these are wistful days of unspoken dreams, hidden longings, restless desires and impending departures. Traditionally the Labor Day Weekend is the un-official ending of Summer, which unofficially began back on Memorial Weekend.
As much as the Memorial Holiday was surrounded with assorted graduations, transitions and academic accomplishments; September is the time when the ‘next’ steps are embraced. These are the weeks when students move off to far-away colleges, when dorm-life is embraced and college apartments are outfitted with the necessary accoutrements of 21st century existence.
These are the days when our little ones clutch their lunch boxes as they walk up the pathway to Kindergarten or First Grade…leaving behind Mom and her apron strings. For those who graduated back in May, these are the weeks when getting one’s foot in either a graduate program or business door becomes more important as the summer celebrations of graduation fades. Moving on in life requires strength…both for the person moving on…and for those from whom he/she is moving. The Letter of Paul to Philemon speaks tenderly of a deep relationship that obviously exists between Paul and Onesimus: ‘I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you.’ Wow…who would have thought that fiery/argumentative Paul could be so tender!?!? In Luke we are reminded that in order to move forward in our relationships with Jesus we must willingly let go of the things (and people) who have rooted us in our past. Ouch….that is not always easy, most of us desire to move ahead while taking everything with us, the notion of striping our lives of entanglements/possessions is startling in its severity. Yet, in the same way that we clean our cooking utensils after each meal, so as we move through life, a cleansing/shedding of what has gone before is essential.
As we pause from our LABORS…or embrace more LABORS than we ordinarily would on a normal weekend….what have been the most memorable departures and endings in your life so that fresh beginnings could be embraced? What have been the endings that still ache? What are the endings (and presumed beginnings) approaching that will be hardest to accept? And perhaps the hardest labor of all, can you perceive the grace of God in these endings, beginnings along with all the emotions that accompany them? Labor Day is not just about our workplace and what we do to financially support ourselves….it is also about the LABOR of looking at our lives and taking stock of where we have been, where we are and where we want to go (as opposed to where our choices are perhaps taking us.) Have fun working up a sweat!
Thank you for joining with our Corpus Christi Community as we gather on this Labor Day weekend for worship and community. Please note that the Parish Offices are closed on this Monday for the holiday. Bulletins with news of upcoming events are available as you exit. Our HAVEN youth have been slaving in the kitchen preparing the pulled barbequed pork sandwiches which are available for purchase after Mass.
Our BOOTSTRAPS Ministry is an effort by our HAVEN/JAMs youth to not just rely on generous handouts but to EARN the money they need for their assorted programs and activities. If you haven’t already made plans for your Labor Day meals….might we tempt you with some delicious barbecued pulled pork??? Just as the warmth of summer will continue for a long time after the unofficial ending of the season, in like manner, remember, you are loved.
FKB
