Liturgical Colour : Green

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today we are presented with the story of a rich man who found it difficult to follow the Lord completely because he was unable to part with his considerable wealth and possessions, even though indeed he had done as the commandments of the Lord had asked him to do.

It is important to first note that Jesus did not mean to condemn the rich man or to humiliate him in any way. The purpose of His conversation with the rich man, as we heard in the Gospel is to show what we need to expect if we want to follow the Lord, in that our hearts and minds cannot be divided to both the Lord and to this world, and whatever that is in the world.

In our world today, it is no different, we still live in a world filled with desire and greed. We live in a world dominated by material goods, materialistic and hedonistic attitudes, where the pursuit of worldly possessions and goods are predominant in the minds of many people. The temptations of wealth and possession are all around us. And in many parts of the world, violence and death still often occur because people desire more of these.

Jesus did not testify against the rich and those who has plenty of possessions, and neither did He condemn them for being rich or endowed with money and wealth. What He wanted to point out was instead how these people often tend to have less ability to detach themselves from even a small part of their possessions, and also the tendency to want more, to seek more of the same wealth, to increase them to satisfy their human wants.

It is in fact the same with us who have less possessions, but nevertheless we often find it hard to even share what we already have less with those who are even less fortunate than us. We can also succumb to the same kind of prejudice and attitude which separates us from the Lord, because of our selfishness and inability to love and be charitable to others.

We ought to realise that there are many of those who are rich, and yet they use what they can do best with their possessions, and what they have excess in, so that they can help others who are in need. On the other hand, there are many of those who are poor and yet they persecute others who are poorer than them, and extort them for their money and possessions.

The key here therefore is to not condemn the wealth or the possession, or the ones who possess them without a credible reason. Condemn instead those who deny the poor any help or extort from them anything of value. Condemn instead those who remain idle when there are those who need help around them. Condemn instead those who worship wealth and possessions more than they should worship God.

Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, today we all should reflect on our own lives. Money and possessions are good, and they are indeed capable of both good and evil, as I have often mentioned. However, have we put them to good use, for our own benefits and when there are those who need help, have we offered some to help and aid them, and to soothe their sufferings?

May our Lord Jesus Christ strengthen our faith and awaken the spirit of generosity and love within us, that we may love our brethren in need and each other with true sincerity and love. God bless us all. Amen.