Best Work of Adrian Advincula: Rich Man and Lazarus Gospel Reflection

The gospel talks about the rich man and Lazarus and about the gap between the rich and the poor. This gospel is very timely because today, the gap between the rich and the poor is continues to widen. There are always less for the poor and more for the rich. The story was great because it is realistic and is applicable to us Filipinos and we can really see the gap between the rich and the poor in our country. It is also observable how other people here in our country step on our fellow Filipinos and how other countries step on us Filipinos. For example OFWs, Domestics Helpers, they help foreigners in cleaning their house and taking care of the children but what do they get in return, they are being stepped on, they abuse them and sometimes the helper just waits for whatever the foreigner will throw just like Lazarus.
The rich man wanted Lazarus to serve him because he thought that although they were dead, Lazarus is still poor and he is still a servant. It is disappointing to see that people nowadays are thinking that poor people are weak and that they could abuse them and step on their dignity; they abuse them because they are weak and they hurt them because they are powerless.
The rich man wanted to go to heaven too and receive good things and he even asked Abraham if Lazarus could send him water to Hades. This just means that the rich man is still doesn't feel sorry about the way he treated Lazarus. It is disappointing that pride cannot be removed from other people although they are the ones one the wrong side.

I think that the brothers of the rich man followed the writings and teachings of Jesus because they, too like their brother, doesn't want to suffer in Hades and I think they also learned how to set aside their pride. The challenge for me of this gospel is that, to step out of our comfort zones and to reach out to the people who need our help. We need to share our blessings to others and stop being arrogant. We should also learn to respect people even if they are poor and we should learn not to step on their dignities and not to abuse them.
If I was in Lazarus' shoes I would forgive the rich man because first of all God wants us to forgive others and forget what they have done. I think the moral of this gospel is for us to be charitable. God gave us blessings and he wants us to share these blessings to the people who are not so blessed. Another moral of this story is respect. People irregardless of their social status need to be respected and we need to learn not to step on them and not to abuse them.