Reflections...

What do you think friends, why is it difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God?

I have thought of a few possibilities.

1)         Money is a great temptation to many people. Once you have it, you want to keep as much of it as you can. The sin of greed may then be grounded in the rich. The more the rich people have, the more difficult it is to let go. They become obsessive and possessive.

2)         In the world, money is a sign of power, status and success, people will try to keep it to maintain their power and status.

3)         The rich mistaken wealth as the basis of their security rather than to trust in God. In a way, to give away their wealth is to expose themselves to the changes of fortunes in the world, to become vulnerable.

So I can see three reasons: greed, power and status or insecurities. Can you think of other reasons why it is so difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom of God?

Perhaps let’s turn the question around, and ask: what does it take for someone to give and to share what they have with others?

I remember a story about Mrs Heung, who is now in her 80s.

Mrs Heung shared with me that in the 60’s Hong Kong was in general very poor. Many families had large number of children but without adequate means to support their lives. Mrs Heung was one of those poor families in that decade.  At that time she was living in a wooden hut with six small children. The youngest one was just a few years old. She was a widow and had to take care of these children all by herself. She worked very hard to make a living and was poor. One day when she noticed that the two children living next door were starving. Without hesitation nor worry if tomorrow her own family has adequate to eat, she gave a cup of rice to the children’s mother.

Despite her inadequacy, Mrs Heung gave and shared with her neighbors who were desperate. She did it out of compassion. She felt pity on the two little children.  At the very moment of giving, she did not focus on her own lacking but on what she had that might help others. She had faithfully practiced what Jesus said, to leave everything and follow him, to show love to the needed for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel.  Mrs Heung has been God’s wonderful and faithful witness.

Jesus assured his disciples that those who left everything to follow him will receive abundantly.

From Mrs Heung, I can see that richness in life is not a matter of how much you have, but of how much you share. Because of her compassion towards others and her generosity to share, she is rich at heart even though she was once very poor. That’s why I always see smiles on her face. Her heart is filled with joy all the time. As a loving mother, she has very close relationship with her children and her children are all living in harmony. God has blessed her with treasure in heaven, right now on earth.

Let me share with you another story. My husband, Tong, loves to watch a TV program called American Ninja Warriors, where participants have to go through the world’s most difficult obstacle course.

There was one episode about a participant who loves the game so much that he renovated his big house so that he could practice in his own home.

One day he met a family with 5 children. They need a big house to stay. As he realized the needs of this family, he moved out from his big house and bought a smaller house for himself. He then rented his own big house to this family but only asking the family to pay what they can afford. He shared in the program that as much as he loved his big house, he can see another family needing it more than he does. As a Christian he found it was the right thing to do: to share what he has with others, with those in need.

In these two stories, we see beautiful acts of love, carried out because people identified with those in need, and acted out of compassion; just as Jesus had identified with the poor and had pity on them.

As Christians, would you do the same? like the man on the American Ninja Warriors program, or Mrs Heung from Hong Kong, by sharing your possessions, big or small, with people in need for Jesus’ sake and the sake of the gospel?

Jesus in the beatitude has shared that "Blessed are the poor in spirit". Shall we Christians try to let ourselves be enriched by the poor, in whom Christ dwells in?  Jesus is with the poor and lives amongst them.

Jesus’ response to the rich man and his dialogues with his disciples reminded us the importance of sharing of the wealth with the poor and to leave everything for his sake and the sake of the gospel.  This is exactly what Pope Francis shared -  “focusing on poverty and sacrificing for the poor are the heart of the Gospel”

In Hong Kong the legal minimum wage is HK$32.5. With the high living cost in the city, this amount is hardly enough for a family to maintain a decent living. The government has just released a figure: there is nearly 460,000 working poor in Hong Kong. Oxfam Hong Kong has shared in a report on poverty in Hong Kong (2010-2014) – that the top 1% of the richest people possesses half the wealth in Hong Kong. We see then the gap between the rich and the poor is very wide and very serious. Hong Kong is worst amongst the developed countries in terms of the wealth gap.

Prophet Amos from the reading we heard this morning has reminded us of the evil of the rich who had exploited the poor when the Northern Kingdom of Israel expanded and grew wealthy. Amos, in the name of God, condemned corrupt city life and social injustice, as well as the deceitful consolations of insincere ceremonial.

Therefore, apart from doing charity and generous giving at personal level, churches have to play a prophetic role to denounce social injustice. At the same time, Christians are required to stand against unjust systems that have perpetuated inequality and sufferings amongst the weak and the poor.

The battle to end poverty and bring forth prosperity for all and not just a few is tough and full of challenges. 

But Jesus Christ who has identified and shared his life with the poor has set a good example for us. His assurance to his disciples --  ‘for mortal is impossible, but not for God, for God all things are possible’. Sisters and brothers, may this living word of God give us the strength and the hope to do our best in sharing wealth with the poor.

Amen. 

* United Nations Development Programme. "Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience." Human Development Report, 2014. Web Accessed February 25, 2015.