Remembering Lazarus
September 25, 2016
by Mac Norhen Bornales
by Mac Norhen Bornales
Poster by Kenichi Tigas
"REMEMBER ME. Remember me fondly when you say goodbye.”
Seems music to ears for fans of the Phantom of the Opera. That was the song of Christie when she made her debut in the Opera. But for today’s Gospel, imagine Lazarus singing it.
Since time immemorial, there has been always a gap between the rich and the poor. There were a lot of times in the history of human beings wherein the society has forgotten the poor and the needy.
Going back to Prophet Amos in the first reading, he was angry because it seems that the people of Israel has forgotten the poor and the needy. Amos angrily said, “Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall!
Amos was not angry because they are rich. He was angry because there are people they have forgotten: the poor.
That was in ancient Israel.
In a more recent past, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables depicted the kind of society France had. The rich becomes richer, and the poor becomes poorer. The gap widens instead between the two social classes.
In the modern era, it is still the problem. But it is not only poverty which is the problem nowadays. Apathy also emerges a big problem to people.
In today’s Gospel, Lazarus represents the people who struggle in living. He represents those who are marginalized in the society. The rich man represents the majority of the people. They keep a blind eye if they see people who are struggling.
But Jesus calls us today to act. He calls us to open our eyes and see the reality. The poor, the needy, and the marginalized are not pigments of our imagination. They are real and they exist.
Let us look at this in our context in the Philippines. Can we keep our eyes blinded on all the social injustices that is happening? We see poor people struggling and dying and we could ask ourselves, “Is giving alms enough to say that we helped them?”
Jesus challenges us today to look beyond and see that there is more to giving alms. There is more in dropping two coins in a small cup. For sure it counts but we are called to care for the poor.
Let us ask ourselves. Do we still remember the face of the last poor person we saw? Do we remember his name? Do we remember his story? Do we remember his past? His suffering?
We are all called to remember them. Let us remember the poor fondly, especially now when people just come and go.
Seems music to ears for fans of the Phantom of the Opera. That was the song of Christie when she made her debut in the Opera. But for today’s Gospel, imagine Lazarus singing it.
Since time immemorial, there has been always a gap between the rich and the poor. There were a lot of times in the history of human beings wherein the society has forgotten the poor and the needy.
Going back to Prophet Amos in the first reading, he was angry because it seems that the people of Israel has forgotten the poor and the needy. Amos angrily said, “Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall!
Amos was not angry because they are rich. He was angry because there are people they have forgotten: the poor.
That was in ancient Israel.
In a more recent past, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables depicted the kind of society France had. The rich becomes richer, and the poor becomes poorer. The gap widens instead between the two social classes.
In the modern era, it is still the problem. But it is not only poverty which is the problem nowadays. Apathy also emerges a big problem to people.
In today’s Gospel, Lazarus represents the people who struggle in living. He represents those who are marginalized in the society. The rich man represents the majority of the people. They keep a blind eye if they see people who are struggling.
But Jesus calls us today to act. He calls us to open our eyes and see the reality. The poor, the needy, and the marginalized are not pigments of our imagination. They are real and they exist.
Let us look at this in our context in the Philippines. Can we keep our eyes blinded on all the social injustices that is happening? We see poor people struggling and dying and we could ask ourselves, “Is giving alms enough to say that we helped them?”
Jesus challenges us today to look beyond and see that there is more to giving alms. There is more in dropping two coins in a small cup. For sure it counts but we are called to care for the poor.
Let us ask ourselves. Do we still remember the face of the last poor person we saw? Do we remember his name? Do we remember his story? Do we remember his past? His suffering?
We are all called to remember them. Let us remember the poor fondly, especially now when people just come and go.