Injustice, Poverty and Hell

26^th Sunday in the Ordinary Time

September 29, 2013

Luke 16:19-31

“And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table (Luk 16:20-21).”

 

Hell is real, and what makes it so chilling is that it is not only an afterlife reality but also present in our midst. Lazarus is a clear example. He practically went through hell before he rested at Abraham’s bosom. He was physically afflicted by hunger and sickness, and worse, he saw the luxury of life just before his eyes, yet so unreachable. He was a victim of poverty and injustice. Indeed, Hell only eventuates on earth for one reason: injustice.

Poverty is one the most sickening realities in our broken world. Poor people are not only deprived of their basic necessities like food, shelter, cloth, medication and education, but also they become the most vulnerable part of society, prone to exploitation and abuses. Crime may occur anywhere, but criminal cases’ number is staggering particularly in slum areas. It is there young boys are defenseless against the aggressive recruitment of criminal syndicates. It is there little girls are seduced to the prostitution world. It is there tender children are exposed to substance abuses. Then they grow up with so much violence, and in turn, they breed same violence. It is a vicious cycle that going deeper and deeper. Sickening indeed!

Slumdog Millionaire tells us a story of Salim and Jamal Malik who are victims of this injustice. After the killing of their mother because of religious hatred, they were forced to stay in a sanitary landfill. Then, they were adopted by ‘professional beggars’ syndicate. One particular scene that reveals the gruesome manifestation of injustice is one little boy with sweet voice, Arwind, was blinded. Jamal later remarks, “Blind singers earn double.” The worst part of the movie is that the movie is not totally fiction, but many events are true to life.

Injustice results in abominable poverty and violence. And this injustice takes place when people are overcome by greed and selfish interests. Corruption, stealing, cheating and immoral businesses are happening almost in all strata of modern society, from government officials down to high school students, from big businessmen down to street vendors.  I remember an afflicted beggar came to our seminary asking help. He said to me that he had been robbed by other beggars!

Lazarus, Salim Malik and countless nameless poor people die because of poverty and injustice every second, and without realizing it, we are doing and perpetuating injustice in our simple and subtle ways. Today’s Gospel, Jesus sternly reminds everybody that ‘the rich person’ might be in every of us. If we create hell on earth for our neighbors, then our reward will be hell as well. Thus, before we lose heaven, let us create first a heaven here on earth. What injustice do we commit in our daily lives? What actions do we accomplish to create hell among us? What do we do to make our world a worse place to live in?