Vimal Kumar csc –
Readings: Acts 11: 1-18; Jn 10: 11-18
Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. Joseph, the worker. As a carpenter, St. Joseph was self-employed. His work saw Mary and Jesus through, and he supported them through it.
Today’s Gospel reading is extremely relevant to St. Joseph. In St. Joseph’s labour and hard work, Jesus depicted the qualities of a good shepherd. His dedication and commitment to the holy family truly embodied these same principles and values. It was indeed a blessing for St. Joseph that he was able to provide for his family through his own means as a carpenter, allowing him to have an independence and security often not available to other laborers of his day.
The labour of this saint and his poverty can serve as a valuable guide for following Christ’s footsteps in the modern world. By looking at St. Joseph’s example as a good shepherd of the Holy Family, we can learn invaluable lessons about how to live out our Christian faith today, through his humble and selfless example of living with joy and gratitude.
Jesus is familiar with his sheep. The shepherd image is developed here with extraordinary richness. In our workplace, office, schools, company, community we come across our fellow brothers and sisters who are collaborating with us in the mission of Christ in various roles: cooks, staff, non-teaching staff, shopkeepers, health care workers, domestic workers, gardeners, watchmen, delivery boys. Is it true that we have been a good shepherd to them not only in terms of guiding them, but also in terms of knowing their struggles, understanding their hardships, showing kindness to their hardships, showing patience and tolerance when they make mistakes, and valuing their contributions?
Everyone in this world is an employee and only God can be considered an employer. We have a primary task to bring equality and equity in terms of treatment, respect, honour towards the entire workforce as one flock to achieve God’s mission.