The heart of the Scriptures, the
heart of the Bible, Old and New Testament, is the same thing, that all of us are the
same. In the eyes of God, God does not make a distinction. And it's very
important for us to understand that this egalitarian spirituality is something, I
think, many of us find it difficult to accept, even in our churches today. Isn't it
true? I mean, if you go to our churches, it's the same. Not just our churches, even
in other religions, it's the same. The rich are accorded special privileges. Those
who are powerful are given special honours, and the poor are taken as
second class. In fact, there are many people who are working in the church, day
and night. Unknown, unrecognised, but their services are equally
important. Without them, the Church cannot function. But we don't accord
them the same privileges. And the reason is simply because sometimes religious
leaders have to fawn on the rich and the powerful, because they need their
financial assistance, they need their political influence. And so, there is
always this temptation in all communities. Yes, we try to treat
everyone equally. And yet, we know there will be situations when it does not
appear to be that way. And there'll be situations when people sin against
the Lord, by treating those who are of lower classes differently, without
according them the same respect. But I want to say this as well. It is
important also to see this in perspective. Whether you are rich, or whether
you are poor, we are all loved by God. It doesn't matter. Even the rich also needs
to be saved. Even the rich also needs to receive the gospel. That's why even in the
early Church, there were quite a number of rich people who joined the Christian
movement. They were attracted by the gospel. And I know today, there are many
rich and powerful people, they serve the Church humbly, generously. They don't
make a big show of the donations they give to the poor or to the Church. There
are many who are very modest, very humble. If we are truly Christians, then
we need to live out this egalitarian spirituality. That's why Jesus was very
clear. He came not to be served. He came to serve. He told his disciples, "If you
want to be great, then you be a servant, you serve others. Whatsoever you do to the
least of my brothers, you do it unto me." So, Jesus is very clear. We are all equal
in the sight of God. The poor, they are loved by God in a special way, simply
because they have great faith in Him. Because the poor cannot depend on
themselves. Sometimes, those who are rich and powerful, intelligent, very
difficult, because they tend to rely on their human talents, their intellect. They
think they know everything. They think they can take care of themselves. They
don't need God, actually. God is just an extra, in case something happens. But
in truth, they don't really need God. But of course, again, let us be clear.
There are many rich, powerful people. They really have deep love for
God. And they use their resources for the service of the community, not to get
recognition, but in gratitude to what the Lord has given to them. They see it
as an opportunity to share the blessings with others, what the Lord has blessed
them. That is the only reason for them to share, because they believe in the
gospel. And so, my dear brothers and sisters, if we really want to walk that
way, we need to see everything from the perspective of faith. Without faith, it
is very difficult to see that all of us are one, all of us are the same before
God. That's why faith is very important. Indeed, I think the direction we should
take is to learn from the apostles. Have you ever wondered why did Jesus choose the
twelve apostles? They were of different classes. Some were revolutionaries, some were
fishermen, some were educated people, like St Matthew. Why? And how did all of them work
together and accept each other, their temperaments, their differences, their
ideologies? Because they loved Jesus. If we love Jesus, then it's possible to
live in unity and care for each other, accept each other. If we do not love
Jesus, we will be divided. So, the only thing that can bring us all together is
our common love for the Lord. It's just like sometimes in family life. Children
cannot agree with each other. But because they all love their mommies or their
daddies, because of this common love, then they are willing to put aside their
differences. And so too, let us put aside our differences, because we all love the
same Lord, and we love all those the Lord loves.
