Trasures in Heaven

 Then little children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them; but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
 Then someone came to him and said, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these; what do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.Matthew 19:13-22

Today in our church calendar we celebrate King Kamehameha and Queen Emma of Hawaii. When still a young man on train tour in the U.S., he writes, "I found he was the conductor, and took me for somebody's servant just because I had a darker skin than he had. Confounded fool;. the first time that I have ever received such treatment, not in England or France or anywhere else........In England an African can pay his fare and sit alongside Queen Victoria. The Americans talk and think a great deal about their liberty, and strangers often find that too many liberties are taken of their comfort just because his hosts are a free people." Kamehameha came to the throne when he was only 20, a year after a smallpox epidemic devastated Honolulu. The quiet and unassuming royals became Anglicans and set about organizing Queen’s Hospital, as well as St. Andrew’s Cathedral, churches and schools; they did as much as any missionary to teach the people of the islands what Christianity is all about. When the king and queen devoted much of their reign to providing quality health care and education for their subjects as foreign ailments and diseases like leprosy and influenza were decimating the native Hawaiian population. In 1855, the King addressed his legislature to promote an ambitious public healthcare agenda that included the building of public hospitals and homes for the elderly. To this day, these benevolent sovereigns are honored and remembered by their people.

Jesus encounters a rich young man with all the right questions and all the wrong notions of his own place and power. He wanted to be Godly without any cost to himself. Jesus invites him to take care of the least with the riches he possesses and then he will know God. How often to we whine and sorrow about our ache for a deeper relationship with God as we remain greedy and self-protective? God invites us, as we look towards advent to truly prepare for the presence of Christ by truly loving our neighbors.

Today I ask God to help me rise about the busy-ness and the hubbub of the holidays and see the people around me. I pray that we can follow the lead of the Hawaiian Royals, who, made the care of the people their enduring legacy.