pandora's box

2 Sundays ago, with the Gospel of John 6: 24-35 (I am the Bread of Life) as basis, I delivered my homily on two points: 
Love of Money. 
Love of God. 
I shared that we should have that love for money. It is not the root of evil. We need money. Money buys us food. Gives us shelter. Provides education for our children. In short, money help us meet our basic needs. We need money, that is why we work, that is why we need to earn a living. 
My eldest brother shared to me that in the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it says, money is not the root of evil. Rather, it is the lack of money! If you will not work for yourself and provide for your family, that is evil. If others, if structures will not allow you to care for yourself and your family, that is evil. 
The spiritual masters have also taught us this - inordinate attachment to anything is evil. Love of money is not evil, too much love of money is evil!
To illustrate my point, allow me to take this further. Let us interchange money with food, with shelter. Lack of food is evil. Lack of shelter is evil. It is sinful. By our causing or by the sinful, oppressive structures around us, evil happens. 
We need to balance this however, for though we are physical beings, physical bodies in need of physical nourishment, we are also spiritual beings, souls in need of spiritual nourishment. That is why we should develop an even greater love, if not, the greatest love we could ever have - love of God.  For though we work in this part of the kingdom, our labors are for our master and friend, that we may be considered worthy of that Kingdom. 
This was what I recall sharing. 

Now, while on retreat, I finished reading a letter I brought with me, a very long letter from a parishioner, 8 pages in fact, in yellow pad, handwritten, noted to be started at 3AM. She shared her travails in life, her difficulty to put food on the table, to provide medicines even education for her family especially her young, sickly children, her husband’s failure to land a secure job, her inability to pay of debts including loans from our microlending program. Structures, systems, people, even the fates are not turning in her favor. And she is falling out from the community because she did not feel the concern except for a few, a few who dared risk investing time and effort to visit her (she noted that these were people who were not regular church goers but faithful friends) and ask her how she is doing, a few who somehow provided a lifeline to her and the community with whom she is ready to disconnect herself from out of the feeling that all is just lip service, a show, a smoke screen. At the beginning of her letter, she affirmed what I have stated in my homily - that lack of money is evil. 
I am at a loss. I have said what I have said. I have opened Pandora’s box. Though taken aback, I know what I have to do. I have no intention and I will never attempt to take back my words, to stash away and hide the evils that we have and done, even my own inability to provide or even at least seek concrete answers. I can only attempt to tame, to name. I can only hope that in time, our community will be able to drive these evils out with our real concern, with our concrete compassion, with our faith that does justice. I know these will not only be a very frightening road but a most lonely one - I just pray that I will have that enough courage and sincerity to walk that lonely road for many are walking that path, including Jesus, hungry, naked and oppressed.