Second Thursday of Ordinary Time

"Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands." Saul was very angry and resentful of the song, for he thought: "They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me. All that remains for him is the kingship." And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.

Jealousy is a sin that creeps up on us, convincing us we are being denied what is rightfully ours by someone else’s success. It is an evil that preys upon our insecurities, fears, and anxieties just as the serpent played upon the insecurities and lack of confidence Eve had in God. It tries to convince us wrong is right and we are being robbed of what’s rightfully ours by someone else. It is a green-eyed monster who always sees the grass as being better on the other side of the fence. It wants to feed our anger and resentment of others and persuade us to take what isn’t ours. It wants us to deny the dignity of other people and lead us to sin against them in thought, word, and deed. Now, we are all tempted to jealousy from time to time, it isn’t the thought that counts, but rather whether we act on our envy. If we give into jealousy, then we sin. However, if we uproot the jealous thoughts and replace them with charitable ones, then we shall discover there is no reason to mourn the success of others. Instead, we should be happy for them and be at peace with them.

Are we jealous of someone? If so, then how can we rid ourselves of such thoughts and replace them with thoughts, words, and works of love? What can we do to celebrate the success of others?

O Lord, cast out the serpent of jealousy from our hearts so we might love more perfectly you and all of your children.

Amen.