Are there any like Zacchaeus among us? Can any of us say “I shall give HALF of my possessions to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone I will repay them four times over.” There are some. But we live in a world in which grabbing the brass ring” has, for many, turned into grabbing for all the money we can get, regardless of the means we use or harm we do to others. Yet there are people who “Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you” [Rabbi Hillel]; who “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” [Jesus]. There are people who take responsibility for themselves and for others dependent on them; who share with people in need. Many people in the world have very little; some lack the basic necessities of life. They understand the need to share. St. Theresa of Calcutta tells of giving a cup of rice to the mother of a desperately poor family in the slums of India. The woman got a container, divide the rice in two and sent half to the family next to her. When asked why she did that she said, “They are hungry too.” Are we aware of the hungry among us? Do we share what we have with them?
