Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Jealousy is an ugly emotion. It can destroy relationships and sometimes destroy people. Have you ever noticed that you can feel good about yourself or something you’ve done until you compare yourself to another person, and then you suddenly feel lousy or even angry and resentful? It’s not a good feeling and it’s even worse if you act out of your jealousy.
In today’s first reading (1 Samuel 18:6-9; 19:1-7), we see Saul becoming jealous of David who just returned from slaying Goliath, the Philistine. The Israelite women were singing both Saul and David’s praises, but Saul noticed that their song attributed greater victory to David. Almost like a young child would jealously complain, Saul thinks, “They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.” Saul sees him as a threat to his kingship. For this reason and for his closeness to God, Saul began to jealously fear David and plan for his killing while the rest of Israel loved him.
In the gospel reading today (Mark 3:7-12) we hear about how people were drawn to Jesus through his teachings and powerful healings. He had crowds pressing in to draw closer to him. Like David, Jesus eventually finds himself the object of intense jealousy. There is a jealous fear that Jesus will be made king. Those in power erroneously come to see him as a threat. And, as you know, this eventually leads to his death on the cross.
Sometimes our closeness to God will attract people to us as they seek that light that dwells within, and sometimes having that light will elicit jealousy, anger and fear in others. Do I trust in God enough to let that light shine not only when it seems to put me in good favor with others, but also when people turn against me?
May God increase our trust and faith so that as the psalmist wrote (Psalm 56), “In God I trust, I shall not fear” for “now I know that God is with me. In God, in whose promise I glory, in God I trust without fear.”
Closeness to God doesn’t necessarily keep us from harm, but it does lead us to eternal life through Jesus who was willing to risk even death for that closeness, which is love everlasting.
- Eileen Miller