Labor Day and Living Water
As the summer draws to a close, our nation pauses to observe Labor Day. For many, the holiday marks the unofficial end of the season: a chance for family picnics, one last weekend on the river, or simply a welcome break from the normal routine. Yet at its heart, Labor Day invites us to reflect more deeply on the gift of work, the dignity of labor, and the ways our daily efforts participate in God’s ongoing creation.
The prophet Jeremiah offers us words that might seem far removed from a holiday about work, but surprisingly they clearly speak. In Chapter 2, Jeremiah laments that the people of Israel have abandoned God, the fountain of living water, and instead turned to broken cisterns that can hold no water at all. The image is striking: instead of drawing from God’s overflowing abundance, they tried to store up life in cracked vessels that only leave them parched.
When we consider the meaning of labor in our lives, Jeremiah’s metaphor comes to life. Work is not only how we earn a living, but how we take part in the creative rhythm of God’s world. From the very beginning of Genesis, human beings are invited to till and keep the garden, to shape and steward creation, to use our gifts for the good of all. The Episcopal Church has long affirmed that labor is a form of vocation, a calling through which God’s image in us is expressed. Whether we are employed in offices, factories, farms, homes, schools, or communities, our work is meant to draw from the living waters of God’s presence.
But we also know how easily labor can become disconnected from its holy source. Work can become a broken cistern when it is reduced to endless striving, when it is pursued only for personal gain, or when it is carried out without regard for the dignity of others. Jeremiah’s warning to Israel echoes for us today: when we turn our labor into an idol, when we expect it to give us ultimate meaning apart from God, it leaves us empty.
Labor Day can be more than a day of rest from our jobs; it can be a day to re-center our understanding of work itself. It reminds us that labor is holy when it is rooted in God, when it serves the common good, and when it recognizes that every person bears the image of Christ. In our Baptismal Covenant, we promise to “seek and serve Christ in all persons” and “strive for justice and peace among all people.” These commitments shape how we understand labor: not simply as individual achievement, but as participation in God’s reconciling work in the world.
The theology of work invites us to hold together both rest and labor, both Sabbath and vocation. Just as God rested on the seventh day, we are called to periods of renewal and refreshment. Our rest is not idleness, but a recognition that our worth does not come from productivity alone. And just as God continues to create, we too are called into meaningful work that reflects God’s love and justice.
This Labor Day, we might ask ourselves: From which well are we drawing? Do we drink from the living waters of God’s Spirit, finding our labor renewed and directed toward love? Or are we depending on cracked cisterns that cannot hold water, seeking fulfillment in endless work, status, or success?
Jeremiah reminds us that only in God is there a never ending source of life. As we honor the gift of labor this week, may we draw deeply from that fountain, finding in our work not only sustenance for ourselves but also blessing for our neighbors. And may our rest remind us that God is the true source of our life, the One who fills every empty vessel and makes all things new.
Kevin+
