When I started to write regular columns, it did not cross my mind to comment on the liturgical readings of the day. After all, there are already other opinion writers who share their reflections on the Gospel. But on this Sunday, I want to make an exception by writing down my thoughts on the Gospel reading, which is the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The reason for making an exception is that this reading says much about the current issue of ghost projects. Somehow, it is providential that when protesters expressed their outrage over corruption last Sunday, the Gospel reading is about a dishonest steward. And today, exactly a week later, the Gospel teaches us on which side God is.
What strikes me in this parable is that nowhere is it mentioned that the rich man obtained his wealth through fraud. Thus, the degree of culpability of the rich man is less compared to the contractors, legislators and government engineers who are accused of amassing billions of pesos. Neither does the parable say that the rich man heard Lazarus beg for alms but refused to give.
The issue is not dishonest wealth but insensitivity to a concrete face of poverty. It is the unconscionable ostentatious display of wealth in the presence of the poor Lazarus.
I am reminded of the Jewish philosopher Emmanuel Levinas who built his thought on the idea that moral responsibility is founded not on prior principles but on the face of “the other.” Morality is not only obedience to principles but a response to a concrete face, especially that of the poor.
I wonder what feelings are engendered among those responsible for the ghost flood control projects when confronted with a concrete face of those who had to wade their way through flooded streets.
Saint Francis of Assisi, while on a parade after a military victory, saw the face of a poor person and this led to his conversion. Peter denied Jesus three times and then saw the face of Jesus on trial and he repented. The poet Edwin Markham saw a painting of a poor farmer with a disfigured body and this moved him to write a poem of protest, “Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans upon his hoe and gazes on the ground, the emptiness of ages in his face…” Near the end of the poem, the poet addresses the rulers, “Is this the handiwork you give to God?”
Indeed, when we confront a person who seems to be evasive, we say, “Look at me.” A few years back, many approved of the killing of drug users but many too questioned their pre-conceived notions of the poor when they saw a picture of a woman crying in front of her dead son, bathed in his own fresh blood.
The parable narrates that the rich man was dressed “in fine linen and feasted every day.” The contemporary equivalent would be those who take pride in their numerous flashy cars, jet-setting lifestyles, expensive bags and dinners worth hundreds of thousands. Ever quick in coining new terms, we Filipinos call the children of these filthy rich “nepos,” (from nepotism). Meanwhile, Lazarus at the gate is covered with sores and longs to eat the scraps at the rich man’s table.
Even more intriguingly, Lazarus is not described as virtuous. The contrast is not between a faithful poor and an oppressive rich. Yet, God sides with Lazarus for the simple reason that he is poor. Call it “God’s bias for the poor.” This detail is important in view of those who justified their silence by saying “The Church is in the middle.” In the current conflict between dishonesty and accountability, standing in the middle is far from being virtuous. Fence-sitting is never neutral and even actually takes the side of dishonesty.
The gate in front of which Lazarus posted himself is extremely symbolic. It serves as the division between the rich man who is inside and Lazarus who is poor. But through this gate, the rich man could have entered the world of the poor. But he was too insensitive to the plight of Lazarus and that was his perdition. Outside the poor, there is no salvation. Our humaneness is judged by what we do when confronted with the face of the poor.
Is it not significant that in the parable, the poor has a name (Lazarus) while the rich man is unidentified? This is opposite to society’s standards where we identify the rich and the poor remain on the level of statistical figures. The flood victims are often faceless and nameless while the rich get front page attention.
But let us look intently on the faces of the poor and maybe, our values will be transformed.