Readings: Isaiah 32: 15-20; Philippians 2: 1-4; John 15: 18-21
Last week there was an article in the Washington Post. The headline read, "The economy's doing great, except for the people in it." The article detailed how the federal G.D.P. is up 4.2% this year, and up 11% since 2009. Since that year corporate profits are up 45% and the New York stock market has doubled.
On the other hand, wages are stagnant, even among the highly educated. The median household income is down 3% over the past five years. The only way hourly wage workers can increase their income is by working more, either taking a second job or doing overtime.
The Great Recession has led to the Great Divide, between the haves and the have nots.
I don't need to tell you these statistics. Whether you are a labor leader, political leader, or union member, you see these statistics every day in the folks around you. Underemployment grows, and even though unemployment figures are shrinking slightly, it's mostly because people are dropping out of the effort to find work. In minority communities, and among young people under 30, the unemployment rate may be two or thre times the national rate.
Union membership unfortunately continues to decline. When my dad returned from World War II and began working at the Jones & Laughlin Steel Mill in Hazelwood, and joined the U.S.W. local 1837, union membership in some industries was as high as one in three. Even a generation ago one in five workers were in a union. Today, maybe 11-12% of workers are unionized, depending on industry.
I am a pastor, not an economist. So let's look at the scriptural readings the church gives us today. Each of the three readings offer us vision and support.
Isaiah was the prophet who brought hope in the face of fear. In times probably more troubled than our own, he called for plowshares to be built out of the weapons of war; he called for kings to rule justly; he made the people obey laws, which benefited all the people, not just the few or the powerful. Isaiah told us not to give up hope that a new day is coming: not because of one politician, not with one political party, not with one slogan, but with the hard work of continually speaking the truth of concern for people to the power of unjust gods of men.
Paul's letter to the Philippians says in the midst of our concern for the common good, each of us has to do the right thing before God. Each person has dignity, and has the ability to contribute. In this reading, humility is the watchword. We are to reject that t-shirt slogan, "The one who dies with the most toys wins," and ever be concerned for the lowest worker, the immigrants, the weak, those on the margins.
Today's gospel acknowledges that sometimes the world rejects the good. Jesus was rejected by the religious and political powers of his time. His response was not violence or vengeance, but continued faithfulness to the mission given him by his Father. This faithfulness helped him to see the robbed traveler, the lost sheep, and the hungry, thirsty, and naked people, and speak of these in some of his most famous parables. We see his concern for the hurting both in his words and in his healing actions.
Where does all this lead us?
One place to go is to listen to Pope Francis, a new voice on the world stage who has caught the world's attention. Although some critics say that Pope Francis is a communist or a radical leftist, you and I know that he is a traditionalist when it comes to social justice. He speaks with knowledge and out of the wisdom of the 125 year old tradition of Catholic social teaching. However, he speaks of this tradition in such a plain and clear way that he has captured the church's and world's imagination. He speaks of this social justice tradition with his actions (rejecting moving into the Apostolic Palace and instead taking a two room suite in the St. Martha hotel, and rejecting the Mercedes limousine for a used Ford Focus with 125,000 kilometers on it) as well as his words.
I took the liberty of inserting into your program today some quotations from Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation, "Evangeii Gaudium." I urge you to read not just the news-making quotations, but the entire rich document.
You are on the front lines of social justice, and I am just a commentator from the cheap seats. I could stop here, but following Pope Francis's urging for the church to be a valued contributor to public policy debate, in light of the church's vision, let me take two minutes to offer four practical comments of my own for today's Labor Day.
(1) Make the case for increasing the minimum wage.
You all know that the minimum wage is not a living, family wage. But it is a bridge to that wage, a step on the road to achieving a family wage. Blessedly many municipalities, and a few states, have taken the initiative to increase the minimum wage. I believe that the arguments against it are weak. Any increase across the nation immediately helps 20 or 22 million people, and puts more money in their checking accounts and helps to feed their families. At the same time, I believe that the best way to increase the minimum wage is to index it to inflation, or increases in household expenses, so we don't have to have those stupid political fights every ten years to increase it.
(2) Be the best union you can be.
Be a union full of integrity, open to cooperation with business and any and all political leaders. Be transparent in your own workings, open to collaboration, a full democracy among the members. Avoid petty political fights, and focus on your core strengths.
(3) Continue to reach out to the most oppressed groups of workers, in this country and around the world.
Remember that workers in other parts of the country, south of our border, or outside our borders anywhere, are not your enemies. These workers are your brothers and sisters, and in need of your support. Support workers who are immigrants in this country without proper documentation, so that they have pathways to citizenship, and are not exploited. Support unions and worker associations throughout the country which are reaching out to the most needy workers, to minorities and to women.
(4) Be joyful yet assertive messengers of the right to organize, to associate, of the right for all workers to receive a full living wage.
You know the church's teaching is behind you (even if not enough church leaders and bishops vocalize this support).
The modern human rights movement is behind you (even if some voices in the media or Congress or business don't get it).
You know that a world of workers who organize themselves in a democratic and free way builds up a better world, a world which supports the dignity of every human person.
The economy is about people, not money. When we support people's dignity and work, we do God's work here on earth.
As usual, Rob Rogers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette understands "an economy which is great, except for the people in it."
Good words and reminders about our faith.
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