THE DANGERS OF ENVY AND JEALOUSY

 

Homily for the Twenty-Six Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Scriptural Texts: Numbers 11:25-29, James 5:1-6, Mark 9:38-43.45.47-48

 

The first reading and the gospel reading of this twenty-six Sunday address one of the practical elements of Christian living- jealousy. In the first reading, we read the unusual story of God acting outside what was perceived to be the established boundaries, and in the gospel reading, the apostles tried to stop a man who was casting out demons in the name of Jesus because according to them, the man did not belong to their group.

Dear friend, of all the emotions that we deal with as humans, jealousy is one of the most dangerous. It is dangerous because it is not just one emotion but a mixture of different kinds of emotions each with their own unique effects. Jealousy is a toxic combination of anger, sadness, and envy. Jealousy is a monster. It can do a lot of harm both to others and even to self. It often comes in two ways. One is to be jealous of others because they possess the same thing that we have, and the other way is to be jealous of others because they possess what we do not have. The former is what played out in the first reading while the latter is what we saw in the gospel reading. But in all, at the heart of jealousy is lack of continence. Being jealous is a sign that we are not satisfied with what God has given us. Jealousy is a sign that we are still being controlled by our own desires.

Driving out demon is a good thing. It is even much better when it is done in the name of Jesus. But the disciples tried to stop the man casting out demons not because he was doing it in a name other than Jesus’ but simply because he was not one of them (Mark 9:38). At a first glance, it may appear as if the action of the apostles was a zealous act but on a closer look, it was a jealous act. They tried to stop the man because he was able to do something they had not been able to do recently. You will recall that in the passages before our today’s gospel text, Jesus had sent out the Twelve with the power to heal and drive out demons (Mark 6:8-13). They tried to drive out a demon from a boy but were not able to do that to the extent that Jesus himself had to come to help them out. Now, here is a man who is not even an apostle, performing exactly the same task that was impossible for the apostles themselves. Jealousy cannot stand it when others are doing better.

What jealousy fails to recognize is that all gifts are apportioned by God according to his all-knowing wisdom. We cannot claim to be sole benefactors of God’s gifts. God can make use of anyone for his work including those we consider unqualified and unworthy. The Spirit of God, like a mighty wind blows wherever he wills. As we cannot control the direction of the wind, so it is with the workings of the Spirit.

The readings of this Sunday urge us to reject the culture of division and exclusivism that is destroying our world today. In our today’s competitive world, when we find it hard to accept those whom we consider outsiders by virtue of their religion, gender, ethnicity, race, social and economic status, we are invited by the readings to learn how to tolerate, respect, accept and cooperate with those whose opinions, beliefs and lifestyles differ from ours. One of the reasons why we have continually elected incompetent fellows as leaders in Nigeria is because we keep giving our votes only to those that belong to our group even when they are not best-suited for leadership positions. We find it hard to appreciate the good qualities in the lives of those we consider outsiders. May the Lord grant us the grace to be happy with the success of others. Amen.