A sermon preached at Kowloon Union
Church on Sunday 31 July 2016, the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The
scripture readings that day were Psalm 49:1-12; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21.
Opening
prayer
Dear God, open our hearts to hear your Word. May Your Word transform our life and draw us close
to you. Amen.
Message
Unresolved inheritance issues among family
members having to be brought to court have been heard every now and then in
Hong Kong. Nina Wong’s case some years ago was one which received a lot of media
coverage. One reason was that the amount of inheritance was huge
with an estimation of 1000 billion HK dollar. Second, Nina Wong was a famous business
woman in Hong Kong. She was the chairperson of the Chinachem Group. She was
regarded as the richest woman in Hong Kong and Asia.
In Jesus’ time, he faced this kind of inheritance issue as well. When he
was asked by a man to judge, Jesus’ main concerns and teaching to the people
was pointing at the problem of ‘greed’. Jesus challenged the man to reflect on their
mentality of having possession. Jesus had no objection to holding wealth. What
he cared about was their sinful manner on greed and obsession to possess wealth
for their own personal interest.
Wealth is good. There is nothing wrong to be rich. The problem is not the
wealth itself. The essence of Jesus’ parable of this rich man was his
accumulation of wealth for his selfish purpose. If people store their treasures
for themselves, this is not God’s way to make good use of wealth.
With regards to accumulation of wealth for future use, Jesus spoke very sharply
and directly. He said it was a fool to store up wealth and treasures as
everybody would die at the end of the day. No one could bring wealth to the
grave! It is thus foolish to save wealth on earth.
What is wealth for and what is wealth all about?
Why do people accumulate wealth for nothing? We all
die…one day. We can’t carry our wealth to the grave.
Why do people accumulate
wealth?
One of reasons is - They have
no security…
I have seen some people
accumulate money not because they do not have enough to spend. They keep it
because they want to find security from money and/or property. But ironically
the more money they have, the more insecure they may become. Like the rich man who
had headache in keeping his possession. He needed to build a bigger barn for
his crops. For rich people, they are very afraid of kidnap and break in,
especially in places where crime rate is high. They would then spend a lot of
money to set up security systems to protect their personal safety and their properties.
Anthony Leung Kam Chung, the
former Financial Secretary from 2001 to 2003, once said, only the money that
you spent for yourself was your money.
He was kind of advising people
not to just save money but they have to spend it for themselves.
Not everyone followed what Anthony
Leung said, there was a lady who accumulated a lot of money. She did not use
the money for herself. But she used it for others. She found great joy and
meaning in making donations.
This was a story about a woman from Taiwan. Her name is Chen Shu Chu, 65
years old. I shared her story in my sermon five years ago. I find that she has
set such a good example that is worth sharing again.
Unlike Nina Wong, Chen Shu Chu is not so well known, not so well
educated. Chen owned a tiny stall in a market in Taiwan, selling vegetables.
She works very long hours: opening
her stall from 4 a.m. till around 9 p.m. She has scrimped and saved, penny by
penny. It is amazing to see with such a modest income, this lady managed to donate
nearly NT$10 million (2.5 million HK dollars), to various causes, including a children's fund, a library
at the school she attended, and a local orphanage.
Chen was honored as one of the 25 heroes in Time Magazine’s
"100 Most Influential People Gala" in 2010. Chen was highly
praised for her generosity.
When people asked what made her
do this generous act?
Chen shared that --- when she was still in elementary school, her mother
and younger brother became ill, but the family could not afford the medical
bill. Authorities from her school asked staff members and students to donate
money to help the family out. With their assistance, both mother and brother
were able to go to the hospital.Chen
said because she had been helped by others in the past, she vowed to help the
poor. She said that’s how she has found happiness.
Chen has made one remarkable account
at the newspaper which I find very impressive.
"Money serves its purpose only
when it is used for those who need it."
The purpose of wealth and how we use that wealth is more important than
simply talking about the amount of wealth we have.
Chen is an ordinary person that we may have met in our everyday life. Could
we also be like her, ordinary but doing extra-ordinary things by sharing with
others who are in need?
Why can she do it? She has a thankful
and loving heart. Unlike the rich man from the gospel story who stored his
wealth for his own use, Chen has led a simple life for herself but unselfishly
giving to people in need her money. This is great and genuine generosity.
Chen has grasped also the essence
of wisdom that the ancient sage shared from the scripture reading Psalm 42 we listened
today. Like other animals, human beings are mortal. People of rich and poor,
wise and fool, able and disable we all go to the grave one day. There is no
earthly treasure we can bring after death.
The sage from the Book of Jobs gives
us wisdom about human condition. Here I quote from 1:21:
He said, “Naked I
came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of
the Lord.”
We don’t know how much money Chen
will leave when she dies. But one thing is for sure, her spirit of love and
helping others will continue even after her death. I believe the people who
have been helped by her will remember her. She has set a very good example in a
world that is so self-centered. That is remarkable.
Chen has lived out the virtue of love. This is an important virtue that
brings eternal values.
Come back to us, sisters and
brothers. How much wealth do you have? By wealth, I don’t just mean money.
Wealth can be any gift given by God. They can be our talents, our compassion,
and even our time.
Each one of us has inherited
different kinds of wealth from God through our parents and family. It is a good
time for us to think about how to use them better for God and for others. The
accumulation of wealth for our own interest turns us away from God. Equally, if
we do not use our wealth for others, it is also a waste.
The letter Colossians we heard
also remind us Christians to live a life like Christ – to give and to sacrifice
for the sake of love. Jesus who died on the Cross kept nothing for himself. Christ
possesses nothing. But Christ is all and in all. With Christ, we have and we
are everything in God the Creator.
From Luke, the Word of Jesus
reminds us - “Those who store up treasures for themselves are not rich toward
God.” (Luke 12:21)
Wealth is not about how much we
possess, but it is all about how much we share. Wealth that is stored up is possession of nothing; wealth, be it
our money, our talent, our compassion, our time, used for others out of love is
everything! Life is short. Let’s seize the day to lead an abundant life of
love.
Closing prayer
Dear God, we thank you for the different kinds of wealth that you have
given to each one of us. Help us Lord to use them for you and for others. Guide
us to lead a life which is focused in your love and bring glory to your name.
In Christ’s name we pray, amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 31, 2016
