Thought for the Week - 1st May 2022

Dear Friends,

Sunday 1st May is commonly known as May Day and in the UK we enjoy the Early May Bank Holiday, the Monday following the Sunday, an extra day of ‘rest’ for some. Historically May Day celebrates the return of spring and new life and it is thought to have its origins in the agricultural rituals of the ancient Greeks and Romans, with later practices including the gathering of wildflowers and making them into floral garlands, the crowning of a May queen who would lead any May Day procession, and the setting up of a May tree or Maypole which people would dance around in celebration of springtime. Among the many superstitions of May Day was the belief that washing your face with the early morning dew on 1st May would beautify the skin. Today in many countries around the world 1st May is celebrated as International Worker’s Day or Labour Day which commemorates the historical struggles and gains made by many workers and labour movements. In 1889 an international federation of socialist groups and trade unions designated 1st May as a day in support of workers commemorating the Haymarket Riot when a confrontation between police and labour protesters broke out in Chicago in 1886 resulting in one person being killed and several others injured. I’ve recently come across the Theology of Work Project which is an ‘independent, international organisation dedicated to researching, writing and distributing materials with a biblical perspective on non-church workplaces.’ In a section entitled Balancing Rhythms of Rest and Work, we read, ‘Human beings need a rhythm of work and rest in order to live up to their God-given potential. Just as God gives people important work to do, God also asks people to rest periodically from their labour. Work gives each individual the opportunity to partner with God in his goals for creation, while rest lets that person enter into communion with God in enjoyment of creation. Ideally, all people would work and rest in comfortable alternation, leaving humanity physically healthy, mentally stimulated, and spiritually fulfilled.’ In the Bible we are reminded that God rested after the work of creation and in the book of Genesis we read, ‘And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation’ (Genesis 2:2-3).  So however you spend your ‘rest time’ and whatever you do, may it be a blessing to you, and may it enable you to fulfil your God-given calling in your life.

Grace and peace,

Neil

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