1. Jesus – Son of Joseph, Son of a Carpenter
2. Honour in labour
1 Reading Genesis 1:26–2:3
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.21Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 90: 2,3-4,12-13,14 and 16
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
Before the mountains were born
and the earth and the world were brought forth,
from forever to eternity you are God.
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants! R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Let your work be seen by your servants,
and your glory by their children.
R. Lord, give success to the work of our hands.
ALLELUIA Ps 68:20
Blessed be the LORD, day by day,
God, our salvation, who bears our burdens. Alleluia!
GOSPEL Matthew 13:54-58
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honour except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
Commentary
Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. It is a holiday to rest from our daily chores, when we also commemorate the International Labor Day. Workers and their unions use to take advantage of this celebration to present their demands in defense of their rights. And the Church, today, offers us the example of Saint Joseph, the carpenter from Nazareth, who was a model worker, keeping up his family and developing his profession. This is the normal way to live in this world of ours; by earning one’s own bread by the sweat of one’s brow. Human rights tell us that each one of us has a right to a decent and well-remunerated job. This is how we fulfill our duties and are paid the salary we deserve. Saint Ambrose says “it is homicidal to deny a man the salary he needs for a living”. Today, the Church prays for the working world, so that every worker may fulfill his/her duties and live with dignity.
The same Gospel introduces Jesus as the ‘carpenter’s son’ (Mt 13:56), in his own hometown of Nazareth, where He grew up and where He lived most of his terrestrial life. However, Nazareth’s people did not really get to know the person of Jesus. They probably thought they knew him well, but they actually knew nothing at all. This is why they could not explain where was He getting his wisdom and special powers from.
But, we Christians, do we know enough about Jesus Christ? We also belong with his people, God’s people, Church’s people, and yet, it could happen to us the same as it happened to Nazareth’s people, that is, that they knew him not. If we can learn good and positive things from any other person, even more so, we can learn out of Jesus of Nazareth. By listening to every day’s Gospel is how we can know and learn many good things about Jesus. This is how we can enrich our life and our faith. Let us beg it from Saint Joseph, who did such a good job out of taking care of Jesus and loving him.