Monday, February 22
Genesis 37 1-11
11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Mark 15 6-15
9"Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, 10knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
Jealousy, envy and resentment- how do they feed us in a way that God cannot? What do we gain from these “respectable sins?” Why do we hold onto, even covet, them? Often, feelings of jealousy come from a perceived threat. Wasn’t it the perception of threat that moved Joseph’s brothers to abandon him? And surely, it was the threat of power and an eternal kingdom that led the High Priests and Pharisees to call for the crucifixion of Jesus. What does jealousy move us to do?
By focusing on perceived threats such as these, we take our eyes off of Jesus and the incredible plans that he has for us. Luckily, the Bible is full of instruction on how to avoid these destructive tendencies. Take for example Romans 12: 9-10 (from The Message):
“Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply and practice playing second fiddle.”
This brings to mind Fr. Patrick’s prayer to “surrender the center space.” By praying this as our own, we can hope to step aside from ourselves to allow Christ to do a bold new work in us! How refreshing to know that there is no threat that is greater than God, especially when he resides in the center of our being! Galatians 5: 26 (from The Message) instructs us in this way …
We will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better or worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
During this holy season of Lent, let us reflect together on what draws us away from Christ, be it jealousy, envy, or resentment, and meditate on the peace and love that radiates from our having surrendered our center space to our risen Lord!
Heavenly Father, enable us to surrender our center space to you, teach us to play “second fiddle” and show us through opportunities to love our lives as an original. In your son’s name we pray, Amen.
Melissa Peter