In our readings today, we deal with the vice of jealousy and envy in the Old Testament.
In our readings today, we deal with the vice of jealousy and envy in the Old Testament.
Jealousy of the scribes and Pharisees, their envy.
Jealousy being that feeling of sadness when somebody else prospers,
and envy going worse than that, where we try to do harm to those who are in prosperity,
have talents or abilities that we don't have, that desire to do harm to them.
And so certainly we see that in what the brothers of Joseph did to him and what the scribes and Pharisees did to Jesus.
And Jesus gives that parable of the property owner who builds a vineyard and assigns tenants and goes on a journey.
And the tenants, when the property owner sends his slaves to get the harvest, they beat them.
And the tenants, when the property owner sends his slaves to get the harvest, they beat them.
Or stone them or kill them.
And then the property owner sends his son, and they kill him too, want to get the inheritance.
So this is what they are trying to do to Jesus.
And what they do, indeed do to Jesus, they kill him out of hatred, out of jealousy, out of envy towards him.
So envy and jealousy are obviously a terrible violation of charity.
And charity is the remedy to jealousy.
We look at the talents and abilities of others and see our lack or the differences that other people have.
And we know, as the saints tell us, the theologians tell us, that in heaven our joy will be in the prosperity of others.
Even if they are raised above us, we will find joy in that.
And so we need...
We need to translate that here on earth as well.
Find joy in the good that others do, in the virtues that others have, even in their talents and abilities, even if we don't have them.
And recognize that this is the state of God's will.
He has ordained that we all have different abilities and that we all have different weaknesses and limitations.
And so we have to accept our limitations, and that's where our peace will be, accepting God's will.
And the limitations and weaknesses that we each have.
And then when we look at our neighbor, we try to rejoice in their good.
And when we don't, when we feel bad, then let us pray for our neighbor.
Pray that God will continue to bestow grace on them and prosper them and help them to grow in greater holiness through the gifts that God has given to them.
And that will counteract our...
Tendency to jealousy.
Praying for them and thanking God for them.
Thanking God for the good that they do and the good that we do and his talents and abilities that he's given us.
Remembering that the first will be last and the last will be first in many cases.
So let us accept what God's will is for us, our vocation, our mission in life, and thank God for it and for its causes.
So let us accept what God's will is for us, our vocation, our mission in life, and thank God for it and for its causes.
So let us accept what God's will is for us, our vocation, our mission in life, and thank God for it and for its causes.
The advantages that we give, or give us, or disadvantages, are according to God's will.
The advantages that we give, or give us, or disadvantages, are according to God's will.
The advantages that we give, or give us, or disadvantages, are according to God's will.
Amen.
Amen.