Friday, 2nd week of Lent, March 1, 2024
Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17-28a; Ps105:16-21; Mt 21:33-43,45-46
As the youngest of six in my family, five boys, and one girl, it is not hard to imagine I would want all the things my older brothers had. Be it clothes, books, toys, and of course, the freedom to do what I wanted. Yet my parents made it perfectly clear that each of us got what they could only afford, but also what they felt we really needed. Yes, I got a lot of hand-me-downs, but I also got some things my older siblings never got. The freedom to do things at a younger age than they ever did. For anyone who ever lived on a farm, it was always the younger ones who seemed to be allowed to do the “grown-up” chores before anyone else did. I don’t know if it was because my parents were worn down, or, my oldest brothers had moved on and the chores still needed to be done. I never complained because I got to drive the farm vehicles earlier than anyone else did, and of course, I felt proud about that. Yet, I was still envious of the stuff they had and the things they got to do. Years later, as adults, we often joke about it. I tell them I was envious of them, and they tell me they were envious of me for all the things I got to do that they couldn’t! Envy is a strange thing; it is all relative to what you value in life. But envy is also one of the most detestable traits because it is so easy to become envious of someone or something. So much so that we ignore all the good things we have and only want what we do not have, which then leads us to be spiteful, hateful, and unhappy.
Today we have two stories about envy and hate, but they are described in different ways. In the first reading, we have Joseph’s brothers envious of their younger brother’s relationship with their father. Although their younger brother did nothing to receive this hatred from his older brothers, they hated him, nonetheless. Just because their father liked him the best and provided many things for him. They not only had envy for their younger brother, but they held their position in the family over him. A double whammy, of envy and hate.
In the gospel, we have ungrateful workers envious of the landowner. So much so that they seized and killed all the servants he sent and even the owner’s own son. Those servants and his son did nothing other than being in charge of the workers. But the workers were so filled with hate and envy, they couldn’t see past it and killed them. Envy and hate are two traits that are so terrible they take over our entire being.
Jesus tells this story or parable, so the Pharisees could see themselves in the story. Jesus had done nothing wrong, yet the chief priests and Pharisees hated him so much, they wanted him dead. They could not see past their envy and hate of Jesus to see who He really was, even when Jesus tried to tell them. He even warns them, because of their hatred and envy, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from them.
So what is the message for us? Basically, who or what are we so envious of, that we have utter hate for others? Are we so blind that we cannot see past who they are? Is that envy turning to hate and causing us to sin? The other day, we were asked to love our enemies, and I add, those we are envious of. A hard task indeed, but if we are so filled with hate and envy, we are no better than them. The passage ended with, “Be perfect like Jesus”. To be perfect like Jesus is to love our enemies and have no hate or envy toward others. I am not sure why we carry envy and hate around in us. Maybe it is because we cannot see what we really have, what each of us is given by God. We probably do not need anything more, and definitely do not need to be envious of those who have more.
There is a prayer that goes like this, “Lord, give me what I deserve, not what I want.” It is a simple prayer, but it takes the focus off our envious feelings and focuses on what we really deserve and need. I think my siblings and I all agreed that we had everything we deserved and we needed. I am glad we recognized that our envy toward each other was not warranted. We all realized that God will provide for us and we will not want for anything more. By focusing on and being thankful for what God gives us all, that envy and hate we have, will turn to love. Only then can we begin to become more perfect like Jesus.
Saint James Catholic Church 