Having lived all my life in a wealthy European country, but also spent time among people who live at subsistence level and have very little, the injustice of inequality is a constant provocation to me. Jesus had a lot of things to say about that, which are challenging but well worth hearing. One of them was his response to the wealthy young law-keeper in Matthew 19: “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Not surprisingly, the young man went away sad. Well, you would, wouldn't you? That may have been an extreme case of someone who was particularly materialistic and in thrall to his possessions, and there may have been a degree of hyperbole in Jesus' response - there's no suggestion he asked the same of everyone. But the general idea of abandoning ‘treasure’ and sharing responsibility for the poor is completely in keeping with his teaching and lifestyle. On one occasion he desc
Making sense of faith without denying the facts