Labor Day

So it is with every artisan and master artisan
who labours by night as well as by day;

those who cut the signets of seals,
each is diligent in making a great variety;

they set their heart on painting a lifelike image,
and they are careful to finish their work.

So it is with the smith, sitting by the anvil,
intent on his ironwork;

the breath of the fire melts his flesh,
and he struggles with the heat of the furnace;

the sound of the hammer deafens his ears,
and his eyes are on the pattern of the object.

He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork,
and he is careful to complete its decoration.

So it is with is the potter sitting at his work
and turning the wheel with his feet;

he is always deeply concerned over his products,
and he produces them in quantity.

He moulds the clay with his arm
and makes it pliable with his feet;

he sets his heart on finishing the glazing,
and he takes care in firing the kiln.

All these rely on their hands,
and all are skilful in their own work.

Without them no city can be inhabited,
and wherever they live, they will not go hungry.

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, *
and his mercy endures for ever.

2 Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim *
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.

3 He gathered them out of the lands; *
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes; *
they found no way to a city where they might dwell.

5 They were hungry and thirsty; *
their spirits languished within them.

6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, *
and he delivered them from their distress.

7 He put their feet on a straight path *
to go to a city where they might dwell.

8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy *
and the wonders he does for his children.

9 For he satisfies the thirsty *
and fills the hungry with good things.

1 Lord, you have been our refuge *
from one generation to another.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,
or the land and the earth were born, *
from age to age you are God.

16 Show your servants your works *
and your splendor to their children.

17 May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us; *
prosper the work of our hands;
prosper our handiwork.

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward.

Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”