Work and rest

            OUR life is one and we need to protect and strengthen that unity and do everything to guard ourselves from the many elements that can cause its division and fragmentation.

            There are many of them, sad to say. We have to be aware of them and do constant battle against them. Foremost of these hostile elements is the prevailing culture that pits our work and rest, our toil and fun against each other.

            We have to understand that our work and rest, rather than being considered as antithesis or contrary to each other, should somehow blend and contribute precisely in strengthening our unity of life. We cannot have one without the other.

            We have to outgrow the mentality that puts these two vital parts of our life at odds with each other. They have to work in tandem, and that depends on us. Basic of course is the proper understanding of our life in general, and the role our work and rest play in it.

            In the Bible narration of the creation of the world and man, we already have the most fundamental idea about work and rest that offers us the basic pattern of how our work and rest should be.

            God, out of love and sheer goodness, created the world and made us the masterpiece of his creation. At the end of each day of the creation, our Lord admired what he made, and found them to be good and was happy. Then on the seventh day, we are told that he rested.

            Here, we are made to understand that resting comes after working, until we reach the final rest on the seventh day, an image of completion and perfection. We have to realize then that our rest comes after our working, and that that rest should be, as much as possible, an expression of our satisfaction and joy derived from our work.

            Rest, therefore, is and should be vitally linked to our work. We have to correct every tendency to consider our rest as an escape from our work. Unfortunately, that attitude is rampant these days. For many people, rest has become completely alienated from our work.

            Aside from being an escape from work, it has become the moment to engage in self-seeking and self-absorption. Both work and rest have been uprooted from their original meaning and purpose, and that’s the reason the two have become at odds with each other.

            We need to recover the original state of affairs. And I know it’s not going to be easy. Formidable barriers are now formed in terms of culturally ingrained biases and prejudices. How to dismantle these barriers is a big question mark.

            I feel that we need some kind of revolution here. A radical change of attitude is needed, a sea change, a break from our wayward past. But for that to happen, we need to ask how many people realize this need? Frankly, I feel only a few, and the few who do realize seem to be resigned to accept the status quo.

            I suppose we have to be extremely patient and hopeful here. The revolution takes a long time to happen. The gestation period is slow, but let’s hope that we can sustain the focus and concern so that we can attain a critical mass that would trigger this revolution to explode.

            We need to do an extensive apostolate on work and rest, starting with our own selves, then at home, in churches, schools and offices, in public gatherings, etc. Fiestas, for example, which are an example of rest, should be used as an occasion to explain to the people the true meaning of work and rest.

            The connection and relation between fiestas and the ordinary time of the year should always be highlighted, giving due attention to the religious grounding of work and rest, since that is where these two aspects of our life truly originated and derived their meaning.

            We have to impart the proper values especially to the children, because they are our future. So there in homes, churches and schools, a clear and sustained catechesis about work and rest should be made.

            We have to promptly correct the erroneous understanding and practices related to these. When we see them lazy, just melting away in the sofas, or wasting time, we have react immediately.

            Therefore, the parents, clergy and teachers should be the first ones to give good example and to articulate through advice, suggestions, corrections, etc., the relevant doctrine. Let’s hope that we ourselves, the elders, also realize we need the appropriate formation for this task.