Judas and the $20,000 indigestion

The recent outcry against the $20,000 dinner of the Arroyos’ at Le Cirque reminds me of a dinner that was given in honor of Jesus Christ:

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.

Then Mary took a pint of pure Nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”

He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. (John 12: 1-6)

Forgive me for saying, but nothing much has changed in the passing of over 2,000 years.

After discovering that the Arroyos were feted to a $20,000 dinner at Le Cirque in New York City, a mob has grown and the outcry against such excess has almost been deafening.

The Arroyos and their dinner mates would hardly be in the category of people who raise people from the dead although there is a very large population who would cheer at their crucifixion.

But on the other hand those who have been shouting: “crucify them” should also look at the mirror and the Bible verse I just quoted.

The people who have been talking the loudest about “giving the money to the poor” are like Judas in a way. They have never been known to be philanthropists, they don’t represent charitable institutions, they are not publicly known to be active in helping the poor, nor can they sincerely say that they have given to others at great personal cost or sacrifice.

Come to think of it, givers and screamers simply don’t share the same stage. The givers do something about the problem, while screamers…well, sorry, but they’re often part of the problem.

Far from defending the Le Cirque Brigade, I am actually holding up a mirror for all of us to look into, I am raising the question that all of us need to ask:

In what form or manner does my personal excess come?

We all have some excesses in our lives and they don’t have to be in the $20,000 range. Excess is simply about “unregulated greed” or reckless and insensitive indulgence. Excess is wanting with the eye and later regretting with the mind.

After being the guest of honor at a $20,000 dinner free of charge, I am almost certain that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo must have temporarily lost her appetite for fine dining that has turned into a “global food fight”.

After paying $20,000 for a dinner that has now caused worldwide condemnation for the Arroyo administration, I am certain that Congressman Martin Romualdez won’t be spending his money in a place that can’t even protect the privacy and confidentiality of their customers. Frankly I’d sue Le Cirque!

When people spoke against the $20,000 dinner, I had to bite my tongue since some of them had $40,000 weddings many of which take place regularly at hotels in the city of Makati.

Even by peso standards, many people still regularly spend upwards of P20,000 for Sunday lunches and dinners at five star restaurants. It may not be the same value in US dollars but it makes no less different as you drive out of the hotel and give a P5 coin to the street children knocking on your window.

My friend Willie also pointed out how many “respectable members” of business circles have regularly spent a $1,000 a month for their scholars in the University belt along Quezon boulevard and the “Air Force” which has nothing to do with flying but crawling in the dark.

Ironically, some of the ladies who were condemning the excess, conveniently overlooked how much they paid for their Butt-tucks, lipo and multi-carat flashlights in their ears.

In one way or the other we are all guilty of excess.

$3,000 watches, the I phone and two cell phones we don’t need, the Louis Vuitton or Prada bag that cost upward of $5,000. It can be that extra pot of Catleya orchid added to several dozens in your garden that someone else looks after. It can be the latest set of mag wheels that cost $2,000 up or that extra HD Plasma TV for the guest room that never has guests in it.

Some people might say, simple lang po ako, until you convert the cost of their scooter and discover it costs over $2,000. It’s all relative, you see. A bicycle does the same thing, the public transport system has all the space for you, but you want the scooter!

You may not have any of those luxuries, but what about the vice? If you can afford to gamble away money on a wild shot at the lotto ticket every week or light up a hundred pesos in cigarettes, or spend money on FHM/Playboy and the like, Welcome to the “Excess Club”.

If you can’t help yourself, at least be honest about it. Be a giver at the very least and stop being a screamer. –Cito Beltran (The Philippine Star)