Do We See Jesus in Others?
By Deacon Rod Knight
In this week’s gospel Jesus tells the Pharisees about the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man led a life of abundance. Lazarus lived a life of poverty, lacking his basic needs. Lazarus was not far away from the rich man, but literally at his doorstep. Did the rich man step over Lazarus with utter disregard as he went about his business? The scraps that fell from the rich man’s table could have fed Lazarus and given him a better life. Would the rich man have missed the scraps? Why wouldn’t the rich man help? Was it his hardness of heart? Did he not recognize the human dignity of Lazarus? Do we see others as less than ourselves? Do we take away their humanity? Do we dehumanize them? Dehumanization is to deprive someone of human qualities, personality, or dignity; to see them as less than human. It is the process, practice, or act of denying full humanity in others, along with the cruelty and suffering that accompany it (Merriam-Webster). Dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing the enemy, making them seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment. This can lead to increased violence, human rights violations, war crimes, and genocide (Khan Ali). This has been a tactic of the military to make the enemy easier to kill.
However, anyone who has been involved in combat can tell you that finding pictures of wives and children while going through the personal effects of those killed in action restores their humanity quickly. Historical examples of dehumanization include the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis in WWII, the Hutu extremists who organized the Rwandan genocide, and the conduct of ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Currently, senseless acts of violence against Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death on a train in Charlotte, NC, and Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated. If we erase the humanity of others, it allows us to disregard them and their needs. It allows us to hate and conduct acts of violence. It no longer requires us to love them or see Jesus Christ in them. This is a lie we tell ourselves to ease our conscience. A friend asked me how I can see Jesus in a current political leader. The truth is just like you see Jesus in the homeless, the poor, the criminal, the unbelieving, and even those in our own families. We have to look!
Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor (CCC 1807). Justice is giving one their due. Human dignity was given to humanity by God when He created us in His image and likeness. We cannot take that away. When we try to, we are allowing Satan to place a great chasm between us, one which seems to be greater than the one between the rich man and Lazarus in Sheol. There are so many things that divide us, that try to diminish or destroy our human dignity, the onslaught of hateful rhetoric fueled by the media, politics, and the confusion of subjective and objective truth. Please watch Father Mike Schmitz, “The Charlie Kirk Shooting & The Real Cause of Violence” on YouTube. Link below. Look for Jesus in Lazarus, in the rich man, in those we love, in those who we are trying to love, but let’s begin by looking for Him in the mirror. Christians remember your dignity and that of your neighbor.