I wonder how many of us ever thought of going into business.
And if we ever thought about that, then what kind of business would we go into?
For those stallholders who are selling food at the fun fair outside, they might have thought of going into the food business.
Well, it may be good profits, but it is certainly a lot of sweat and fret.
Going into retail business might be easier and maybe safer.
We just need to know what is the consumer demand and we get the right supply.
And if you were to ask me what small retail business is in demand now, I would suggest this: handphone covers.
Yes, handphone covers, and screen protectors, and those kind of accessories.
Why that kind of business? Well, just the other day, I happened to pass by a “pasar malam” (those temporary night market that are set up in the neighbourhood).
I was surprised at the number of stalls that were selling handphone covers and I was also amazed at the variety of designs on the covers.
There are all sorts of colours, all sorts of designs like “Hello Kitty” and “Minions” for the teenagers and smart leather covers for the stylish and sophisticated.
It might sound strange, but to have only one cover for a phone is too boring.
And the funny thing is that the handset companies spend millions of dollars in R & D to make the phone light and slim.
And then people buy some cheap cover to make it thick and bulky again. That’s so strange and ironic.
The parable that Jesus told in the gospel has got nothing to do with phone covers.
Yet, in a certain sense it does refers to covers.
There was Lazarus, the poor man outside at the gate, and he was covered with sores.
Inside the gate was a rich man, covered in purple and fine linen, and it can also be said that he “covered” himself with rich food.
It was a parable of two human beings of the same species, but with two totally different so-called “covers”.
One had a rich luxurious cover and the other had an ugly repulsive cover.
But as the parable goes, the covers will be taken away.
Because when death comes upon the two characters in the parable, there is a reversal of situations.
The rich man is now in agony and covered with flames, whereas the poor man Lazarus is now safely covered in Abraham’s bosom.
Jesus directed this parable to the Pharisees who thought that externals were all important.
So they wore long tassels and phylacteries to give the impression that they were pious and religious.
And they despised those sinners whose sin is public knowledge, and they would not go near them or even look at them.
And that was what Jesus was pointing out at in the parable.
As much as the rich man did not abuse or ill-treat or drive Lazarus away, he did not look at him; he chose not to look at him. He did not care at all about him.
We may not be rich (or that rich!) but when it comes to the poor, we may also look away and not bother or care about them. Or we simply put covers over our eyes.
As the 1st reading says of the rich and affluent: about the ruin of Joseph, they do not care at all.
Similarly, we may not be that pious or religious, but when it comes to the sinners of society, we rather not look at them, or bother about them. Better to keep them out of sight so that they will be out of mind.
So, how different are we from that character of the rich man in today’s gospel parable?
Of course, it is uncomfortable, and even repulsive, to look at or think about the sinners of society, like those gangsters whose bodies are covered with tattoos.
It would be better that these “public sinners”, these gangsters and criminals, be imprisoned and kept out of sight and better still, be forgotten.
Yet some good-hearted people, and they are doctors, have gone to Changi Prison to volunteer in a tattoo-removal program.
The tattoo-removal program is for those prisoners who want to have their tattoos removed, as a demonstration of their desire to renounce their former gang affiliations.
One of the doctors, Dr. Lam Bee Lan, said that the prisoners have to undergo an excruciating procedure.
She added : I’ve seen muscular and tough men wince and tear in pain when I use the laser to remove the tattoos. Tattoo removal is much more painful than making one.
But despite the agony the inmates undergo, they thanked the doctors afterwards for helping them leave their gang identifications behind.
Yes, those doctors chose to look, and to help those prisoners remove their tattoos, to heal their “sores”, to remove their ugly “covers”, so that they can reintegrate into society.
We may not be able to do what those doctors did for those prisoners, but we can certainly do something for the poor and needy.
We only need to remove the “covers” from our eyes and see the face of Jesus in the poor and needy and to reach out to help them.
Well, we may get cheated, and we have been cheated before.
But it might be better to be fooled a thousand times by people who may be taking advantage of us, than to miss the chance just once to help a genuinely poor person. (St. Robert Bellarmine)