I have tried to avoid being too Biblical because it often turns off many people, particularly those who have lost their Faith. But this time I feel compelled to discuss last Wednesday's gospel.
First, it's because I was assigned to reflect on the gospel in our occasional family gathering for Bible reading to nourish our faith. Second, it gives me the chance to expound on the subject of my previous posting "Life is a loaded dice'.
But first things first, here's last Wednesday's gospel from Luke 6:20-26.
Lifting up his eyes to his disciples, Jesus said, "Fortunate are you who are poor, the kingdom of God is yours. Fortunate are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Fortunate are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Fortunate are you when people hate you, when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for a great reward is kept for you in heaven. Remember that is how the ancestors of this people treated the prophets.
"But alas for you who have wealth, for you have been comforted now. Alas for you who are full, for you will go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Alas for you when people speak well of you, for that is how the ancestors of these people treated the false prophets."
For believers like me who want to put religion into practice, this is one of the hardest gospels to explain, particularly to people who have lost their faith, simply because it doesn't jibe with our worldly desires to become rich in material things.
Telling a poor man who has lost his Faith that he is blessed because the Kingdom of heaven will be his, would likely draw angry reactions like "don't tell me that crap, I don't need your heaven." Even among believers it is difficult to think that poverty is a blessing.
Whether we believe in God or not, nobody among us wants to be impoverished. I would still have to hear a believer say that he felt blessed when he lost his wealth. Life on earth is often a blind pursuit for worldly things - riches, fame and power. And this is what the gospel is all about - a reminder for us not to get obsessed with worldly fortunes.
Personally, I can easily relate to the gospel because I read the Bible not literally but by themes. This gospel is in keeping with Christ counsel for us not to pile up material things but treasure that do not rust. (Matthew 6:19)
It is in keeping with the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-23; Mark 4:2-20; Luke 8:4-15) which depicted Christ as the sower of God's counsels. There were seeds that did not grow because they fell on the path where they were trampled upon, on rocky grounds where they did not take roots and amid weeds which choked them.
I find this parable very relevant to the present times, especially when I think of the weeds choking the seeds where the weeds symbolize our worldly desires. Many of us lost our faith because we succumbed to the worldly temptations not only of the flesh but also of material riches, power and fame.
I surmise that it is against this backdrop that Jesus said blessed are the poor for they will inherit heaven. It's because the poor, who have nothing to cling on to but the proverbial straw, will depend on God for their salvation in difficult times as well as in the life thereafter. The Bible teaches us to be more dependent on God. With this in mind, there are times when I think that life storms occasionally come our way to remind us of God.
The gospel is also a reminder for the rich not to use their wealth in debauchery. It is in keeping with the Christian teaching that riches on earth is not ours but is only lent to us and must be put to good use. We cannot find happiness or peace of mind with material riches.
When we have much more of it, material wealth loses its meaning. This could be the reason why many wealthy people become philanthropists. People who don't take time to examine their lives will keep of piling material riches without knowing why.
That brings me back to the subject of my previous posting "Life is a loaded dice" - that life on earth is a struggle between our mundane desires and our lofty ideals. Although we are often vanquished by worldly temptations, the other side of us keeps on telling us to reach for sublime ideals.
This convinces me that we are not only flesh, blood and bones or, to put it another way, merely atoms. We have a lofty spirit that reminds us that life in this world is just a pilgrimage to the life beyond where the sublime reigns, no matter if atheist scientists are arduous in trying to convince us that no life can rise beyond our graves.
Let the atheist scientists, who could have been referred to in the gospel as among the false prophets, bask in the glory of their fame. Our pursuit for adulation is as illusory as our pursuit for material fortune. The Bible reminds us that everything we do in this world is of no consequence, they're just like chasing the winds. We can read that in the book of Ecclesiastes.
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