Readings:
Ezekiel 28:1-10
Matthew 19:23-30
Reflection:
Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich
So that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
As I write this, I have just returned from Sinpang, West Borneo, where I spent three days in as remote a part of the world as I have ever been. The occasion was a One Year Memorial Mass for the father of one of our priests, Fr Nico.
Vast tracts of the land here were once jungle, but thanks to the both the blessings and the curse of palm oil, forests are rare here. Orangutans, (literally meaning, Forest Person) native to this region, are an endangered species.
The story of this region is one of competing needs. Forests provide habitat for wildlife such as orangutans, while palm oil plantations provide livelihoods for many families. Balancing human development with care for creation remains one of the great challenges of our age.
For the people of this area, thanks to our modern day thirst for palm oil, they now have access to education, opportunities for their children, health care, drinkable water, and a standard of living, simple by our standards, but an incredible improvement for them.
What impressed me most was that increased material prosperity has not caused them to abandon their traditional way of life. The First Peoples of this region, the Dayaks, continue many facets of their traditional life. Custom law is first and foremost. They harvest the fruits of their labour. They hunt for their meat. Thursday night, they placed the fruits of their labours on the table. Vegetables, rice, pork, chicken, and one dish, they didn’t know the name of in English. It turned out to be Pangolin, an armadillo-like mammal. Apparently, Pangolin skin is used in bullet-proof vests. I presume the meat is more tender! But that was what the day’s hunt found, and what the harvest had provided, and that was what was shared, freely to all.
There is much to be done in our world. There are injustices to be sorted, inequalities to be obliterated, children to be fed, sick to be healed, and broken hearts to be renewed.
The generosity of these villagers reminded me that abundance is not measured merely by possessions. Those with comparatively little often share most freely. Their example challenges us to ask how we might use the blessings entrusted to us.
Because God’s bounty is abundant.
Peter Gardiner is a Passionist Priest.