The first part of today's Gospel seems like a classic example of religion as the 'opium of the people': Be happy that you are having such a hard time now because there is a wonderful future waiting for you in the next world. And the second part is not likely to go down well in our contemporary developed world. "Woe to you who are rich [he can't be serious!], you have received your comfort already." How are we to understand these sayings which turn our common worldview upside down? They have to be seen in the light of the Kingdom, in the kind of society that Jesus came to set up, a society based on mutual love and sharing and support. A Kingdom for this world and not just the next. The coming of such a society could only be good news for the poor and destitute (material and otherwise), for those suffering from hunger (physical and otherwise), for those depressed by deep sorrow and for those abused and rejected for their commitment to Jesus and His Way. On the other hand it would not be good news for those self-centred people who amass material wealth at the expense of others. Instead of focusing on what we can get; let us rather focus on what we can share of what they have.