We are all familiar with the story of the rich man who feasted sumptuously every day while the beggar, Lazarus, lay at his gate, hoping for crumbs. It is a parable from the Gospel of Luke, but on this Feast Day of San Lorenzo Ruiz, it feels less like an ancient story and more like a stark photograph of our present reality.
In the Philippines, a great chasm divides our nation. On one side, we have the modern-day “rich men”—the officials who live in opulence, their tables laden with the public’s hard-earned money. They revel in a super luxurious lifestyle, unconcerned by the rising tide of corruption and the public’s desperate needs. They are the ones who turn a blind eye to anomalous government projects, to ghost infrastructures, and to the shocking abuse of power that has become almost ordinary.
And then there is our modern-day “Lazarus.” This is not a single person but a multitude: the Filipino families whose homes are washed away by the wrath of typhoons, the farmers whose land cracks from drought, the fishermen who can no longer provide because our seas are empty, the children who go to school on empty stomachs, and the jobless who struggle to survive from day to day. Their cries are drowned out by the noise of politics and the glitter of luxury, yet they remain the living image of Christ in our midst.
San Lorenzo Ruiz stands as a counter-example to this indifference. He did not seek wealth or comfort, but he gave his life for the faith. As a family man and calligrapher in Binondo, he lived an ordinary life, but when asked to renounce his faith, he courageously chose to remain faithful, even unto death. His martyrdom reminds us that true greatness is not in riches but in fidelity, not in having but in giving, not in clinging to life but in offering it for a greater purpose.
The challenge is clear: we cannot allow this chasm of wealth, privilege, and corruption to continue growing. The Gospel warns us that the rich man was not condemned for his riches, but for his blindness—for what he failed to see and do. If we, as a people, ignore the plight of the Lazarus at our gate, we risk the eternal fate of the rich man in the parable—condemned not for what he did, but for what he failed to do. Indifference is as deadly as cruelty, and silence in the face of injustice is complicity.
As we celebrate the feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz, let us ask ourselves: Which side of the chasm do we stand on? Do we live only for ourselves, or do we have the courage to share what we have, to speak against corruption, to stand beside the poor and forgotten? The life of San Lorenzo Ruiz is a challenge to each Filipino to live with integrity, courage, and compassion.
May his example inspire us to build bridges instead of chasms, to create tables where everyone can eat, and to nurture a nation where faith is alive, justice is defended, and love is shared. If San Lorenzo Ruiz could give his life for the faith, then surely we can give our time, our energy, and our resources to bring comfort to the “Lazaruses” of our time.
The parable is not simply about heaven or hell; it is about the choices we make today. Let us choose to close the gap, to reach across the chasm with mercy and justice, so that one day, we too may hear the words: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.”