Dear God,
when you created Adam, you gave him the task
to tend the Garden of Eden.
Even in a perfect world before the fall,
you created humans to be fulfilled
when completing the work given to them.
When you came to us, you lived your life as a man.
You came as one
who learned a trade and earned his wage.
In doing so you taught us that all people
are made whole by meaningful work.
As we relax this Labor Day, let us never forget
that, though we love our leisure,
a life of work is nothing to escape or dread,
and that work well done
is work in imitation of your creative act.
Amen.