Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest—Matthew 11:28
It is easy to get a visual image of a day laborer in this passage and not the more erudite meaning of a Jewish scholar struggling to master the laws of the Torah while failing to seek wisdom. All ancient Hebrew thought is expressed through the senses, what can be seen, touched, smelled, tasted, or heard. In this way, because of Hebrew’s concrete language, the Lord reaches both the day laborer and the scholar with these reassuring words.
In our Door Ministry, many day laborers come seeking financial help. Our “day laborers” consist of construction workers, nurse’s aides, bus drivers, moms with kids in tow, restaurant workers, landscape gardeners, young people trying to finish college or trade schools, and the elderly, to name a few. Thanks to the wonderful contributions from the parishioners at Sacred Heart, the Door Fund is able to give them a little bit of financial rest.
But, something else happens here at The Door. Wisdom happens. For it is here that we encounter our sisters and brothers who have the same hopes and dreams like our own. Paul describes it in this way: “There is no such thing as Jew and Greek, slave and freeman, male and female; for you are all one person in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). Or, as Anne Werdel so often says, “We are all beloved sons and daughters of God.” We learn the wisdom of inclusivity.
I am also thoroughly convinced that the Lord gives us the poor, not so much for us to change them but so that we can be changed, transformed in our minds and hearts--to begin to love as God loves. We learn the wisdom of selfless love.
Finally, on the road to everyday holiness, God often sends people to us so that we may continue on our way toward God. However, because most of us are so insulated from the poor, we need to put our feet on the ground in their neighborhood if we wish to grow in holiness. Remember, Jesus spent a good portion of his life among the poor making their lives better. As we hear in Joan Chittister: In My Own Words: “Sanctity consists in making life good for everyone whose life we touch.” We learn the wisdom of walking with the poor.