A sermon preached at Kowloon
Union Church on Sunday 5 May 2019, the third Sunday of Easter and the Labour
Sunday, by the Rev. Hans Lutz. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 90, Romans 8:18-23 and Matthew 13:54-85.
1.
May 1st is Labour Day in most countries.
The origins of Labour Day go back to 1882. In that year the Central Labour
Union organized the first celebration of Labour Day in New York. The demand at
that time was for workers to enjoy the “three eights”, namely eight hours work,
eight hours for education and eight hours for rest. We note that housewives,
domestic workers and many employees do not yet enjoy what was demanded in 1882.
Hong Kong churches have designated a Sunday around 1st May as
Labour Sunday. The topic for this year is “Suffering and hope of victims of
industrial accidents and occupational diseases.”
2.
In Hong Kong we still count 35,000 occupational
injuries and more than 200 deaths every year. On the mainland deaths from
workplace accidents amounted to a staggering 35,000 in 2017 and new cases of
occupational diseases amounted to around 30,000. Behind each victim is a family
which suffers and grieves.
3.
From the 1980s onward the Christian Industrial Committee
(CIC) has been working with industrial accident victims and their families.
This work led to the establishment of the Association for Industrial Accident
Victims. Beginning from 1993 the CIC has been active among workers suffering
from occupational diseases in the Pearl River Delta. There are two common
illnesses:
Silicosis is found in the mining, construction and gemstone industries.
When the dust of stone or cement is inhaled it settles in the lungs. The
victims suffer increasingly breathing difficulties and eventually die. There is
no cure.
The second very common disease is benzene poisoning. Benzene is a toxic
chemical widely used as a cleaning agent in the electronics, shoe production
and printing industry. When workers inhale the fumes over longer periods, their
heart, lungs and nervous system are affected. Many victims eventually suffer
from leukaemia.
4.
Today we have read Psalm 90. Psalm 90 is often read at
funerals, but it also says something about human labour. “The years of our life
are but toil and trouble“ (Verse 10). God created man as worker, but sin, i.e.
greed, indifference and exploitation have turned healthy work into suffering
and death.
The second part of the psalm is a prayer. The prayer implores God to
turn around the fate of humankind. It prays for joy and a better life. It ends
with the hope that God may bless human work and bring it to fruition.
5.
Hope is the force producing change. Where there is no
confidence that a situation can be changed, nothing will happen. Today’s
reading from the gospel of Matthew makes this very clear. When Jesus returned
to Nazareth, his fellow citizens were puzzled. They knew Jesus as an ordinary
person, the son of a carpenter and a worker who lived among them. Here he was
claiming authority from God. Because of their lack of faith, Jesus did not do many
deeds in their midst.
6.
I have come to admire the determination with which
victims of industrial accidents and occupational diseases face their situation-
I want to share three stories of hope with you. The first is the story of Su
Mingguo. He started working as a cutting worker in a gemstone factory in
Dongguan in 2002. In July 2005 he was certified to have silicosis. He stayed in
a clinic for chronic diseases for half a year. After that he spent three years
in litigation, including arbitration, first hearing, second hearing and
rehearing. In 2007 the staff of Labour Action China, a Hong Kong labour group
which grew out of the CIC, recruited him to the Shenzhen team. Now he travels
to the occupational disease hospitals in Guangdong and helps other victims.
In 2005, when Su Mingguo was certified with silicosis, his elder
daughter was 11 years old, his second daughter 8 and the son only 5. His mother
passed away in 2006 and his father had to take care of the children besides his
farm work. In 2018 his elder daughter graduated from university and works as a
teacher. His second daughter is a kindergarten teacher and his son is studying
in senior high school. His wife continues to work in an electronics factory.
Despite his incurable disease, Su Mingguo managed to overcome hardship
and create a future for his children. At the same time he is serving his fellow
workers.
7.
The second story of hope is from Hong Kong. Many years
ago the CIC established the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident
Victims- Part of the Association‘s work is the “Mama Group”. All of its more
than 100 members are widows who have lost their husbands in an industrial
accident. It is a self-help group whose members care for each other and support
each other. The staff of the Group, Leung Kam Oi, is the soul of the Group. In
her work she sees much sadness, but also happiness. These mothers face much
hardship in bringing up their children alone.
Many of these children find a career. Some of them become social workers
or teachers. Leung Kam Oi is a committed Christian and has guided many of these
women to the Christian faith. The support from their faith gives them
confidence for the future.
8.
The third story is that of Chan Yuk Ying. In the early
1990s she worked in Shenzhen in a factory producing furry toys. In November
1993 a fire broke out in the factory. The workers were trapped as the doors on
the ground floor were locked. Many workers jumped from the second or third floor. The official casualty figure was 84 dead and 42 injured.
Among them was Chan Yuk Ying. She suffered 70% burns on her body and lost a leg
and one hand. She had to undergo many operations. However, her will to live and
be active was not broken. After returning to Chungking, she founded a self-help
group for handicapped and victims of industrial accidents and a study group for
children whose parents had left them behind when they went to work elsewhere.
At present she faces a double challenge. She needs funds to renew her
artificial limb and to keep the study group going. She needs $50,000. Some
friends have come together to raise the money. I am grateful to the KUC for
asking for an offering at the end of the service.
9.
These people can teach us about hope. However, as
Christians we live in the hope which has its source in the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. In the passage from Romans 8 Paul speaks of Christian hope He
speaks of the glorious liberty of God’s children. We have the promise of the
kingdom, of a new haven and a new earth where God will wipe away our tears.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, May 05, 2019
