A sermon for International Workers’ Day in
the Centennial Year of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Apostles
May 1, 2019
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Beltsville, Maryland
Isaiah 30:18-21, Psalm 119:33-40, John 14:6-14
Today we commemorate two disciples, Philip and James,
whose almost anonymous faithfulness
functions for us as a mirror.
Since little is known about them,
we cannot dwell
on their characters and actions.
So they lead us to look at ourselves,
our own discipleship,
and how we can live more faithfully.
The reading we heard from Isaiah
can be of special help in doing this.
It offers us a series of consoling promises
that ends with this one:
“And when you turn to the right
or when you turn to the left,
your ears shall hear a word behind you,
saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.'”
Thus the Lord guarantees us guidance
as we walk along life’s path.
But notice this:
guidance will come from a voice
speaking from behind us.
We must listen to this voice and heed it.
We might miss or misinterpret the message.
So we must strengthen our capacity
to hear and to act.
This passage suggests the vital distinction
between our conscience and the voice of God.
Conscience is the means by which we listen
to God’s voice speaking about anything ethical.
Our conscience is not itself the voice of God,
but must be enlightened, purified, educated
to distinguish God’s summons from other voices
attempting to make a claim on us.
We develop an enlightened conscience,
we learn to obey the authentic voice of God,
through such resources as
attention to Scripture and the Church’s teaching,
prayer, study, participation in the sacraments,
experience of life, and wise counsel from others.
Only an enlightened conscience,
one appropriately informed,
has a claim upon our obedience.
And sometimes we are enlightened
by resources that surprise us.
The conscience of any of us
can also fail to be enlightened or informed
in some particular matter,
and thus we miss the direction
that God wants us to take.
This problem can even arise
in a nation or other large community:
people as a group do not hear or heed
how God intends to direct their steps;
together they reinforce
one another’s incomprehension.
Since the sixth century,
May 1 has been the feast
of those almost anonymous apostles
Philip and James.
More recently May 1 has been kept
in a great many countries
as a occasion to honor labor
often known as International Workers’ Day,
an observance that resembles
our Labor Day holiday
on the first Monday in September.
2019 marks the centenary
of the International Labor Organization.
This United Nations agency advances social justice
and internationally recognized human and labor rights.
It brings together governments, employers, and workers
from 187 member states
to set labor standards, develop policies, and devise programs
that promote decent work for all women and men.
In 1934 the United States joined the International Labor Organization,
due in large part to the efforts of Labor Secretary Frances Perkins.
Ten years later, she supported the Declaration of Philadelphia,
which sets forth the fundamental principles
of the International Labor Organization.
A devout Episcopalian,
Frances Perkins was added to our church calendar in 2009
as a public servant and prophetic witness.
The first ILO principle is a brief, powerful negation:
“Labor is not a commodity.”
In other words, the worker is human,
so the worker and the worker’s achievement
must be treated with respect.
In the world of labor,
this principle is comparable
to what the Bible announces in its first chapter,
that humanity is made in God’s image and likeness.
“Labor is not a commodity.”
Whether new to us or familiar,
this principle is a precious resource
that enlightens our conscience,
for it summons us to recognize
the dignity of each and every worker,
people we Christians call God’s children.
Christians believe that God has a human face
in the Son of God incarnate and resurrected and alive forever.
We believe that through the Incarnation,
Jesus is one with all humanity,
that we see him in every human face.
The ILO declares, “Labor is not a commodity.”
In other words, labor is not faceless,
but appears with countless faces.
And the Gospel announces that Christ is present
in each of those faces.
“The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers”
was a recent exhibition at the National Gallery of Art
where a wide range of workers were presented to the public
by many artists and in diverse media.
In Genesis we read of how God created the universe.
The first labor strike was the Exodus from Egypt.
Like God and like Joseph, Jesus worked construction.
Bread and wine offered at the Eucharist
are the work of human hands.
Labor is not a commodity,
but includes manifold good ways that we pursue
human flourishing, the common good,
and the welfare of this planet.
Labor is hard and it’s holy.
We must learn again
to honor these realities.
The Rev. Charles Hoffacker is a priest of the Episcopal Church
and a board member of the Frances Perkins Center
