20180118
JEALOUSY IS OVERCOME BY FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE
18 JANUARY, 2018, Thursday, 2nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Samuel 18:6-9,19:1-7 ©
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On their way back, as David was returning after killing the
Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel,
singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and
as they danced the women sang:
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’
Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They
have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he
has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that
day forward.
Saul told
Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now
Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned
David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on
your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out
and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to
my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
So Jonathan
spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against
his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has
been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed
the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You
saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing
David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath,
‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him
all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him
as before.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 55(56):2-3,9-14 ©
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In God I trust: I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
(are they not written in your book?)
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 3:7-12 ©
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Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great
crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea,
Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of
all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready
for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured
so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch
him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him
and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make
him known.
JEALOUSY IS OVERCOME BY FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 SM 18:6-9, 19:1-7; PS 56:2-3, 9-14; MK 3:7-12 ]
We all feel
insecure somehow and to different extent. We all suffer from low
self-esteem. We feel that that we are never good enough, regardless how
handsome, beautiful, talented or accomplished we are. We are worried
about what people may think of us and how others will see us. We are
protective of our interests and our turf. We want to protect our
comforts and our security. This is natural because we are
self-preservative. That was how King Saul felt when David was given high
praises for killing Goliath, the Philistine. “The women came out to meet
King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of
tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang: ‘Saul
has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’” We read that
“Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking.” Fear and
envy began to consume him.
Jealousy
causes harm to the person that one is jealous of. Because of Saul’s jealousy,
he wanted to eliminate David for fear that he would take over his throne.
He thought, “’They have given David the tens of thousands, but me only the
thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on
David from that day forward.” David was innocent and perhaps ignorant of the
reasons for the King wanting to kill him. Jealousy is illogical because
all that David did was for the sake of the King – to protect him and to save
the nation. He did not destroy the Philistines to earn a name for
himself. Neither was he eyeing the kingdom. He was simply doing it
out of duty and for love of the King. Indeed, the actions of one who is
jealous is unjustifiable and the person knows it. It all boils down to a
deep insecurity in the person.
But jealousy
not only causes harm to the person who provoked the jealousy, consciously or
unconsciously; it also eats up the person who is jealous. Indeed, the monster
of jealousy consumed Saul. He could have made good use of David in the
administration and defence of the kingdom, but instead he regarded David as an
enemy and devised plans and ways to kill him. Instead of working with
David to defend the kingdom from the Philistines, he drove David to take refuge
with the Philistines. It was partly his jealousy over David’s talents and
popularity that caused him to lose his throne. Instead of attending to
the affairs of his kingdom, he was conniving and thinking how to get rid of
David. In this way, he made the prophecy of Samuel come true. “Samuel
said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of
the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.’ As Samuel
turned to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it tore. And
Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day,
and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.’” (1 Sm 15:26-28)
The truth is that the more insecure one is, the more mistakes he makes.
When we are insecure, the jealous monster will blind us from doing what is
right.
The devil in
the gospel too was jealous of Jesus’ popularity. We read in the
gospel that the fame of Jesus went far beyond the boundary of Galilee. “From
Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon,
great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him.” Many were
attracted to the Lord because of His preaching and His healing
miracles. “And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because
of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he has cured so many that all
who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him.” Jesus
must also have been very popular too. This is understandable because many
were sick and all sick people are desperate to be healed of their illnesses. No
one wants to suffer unnecessarily or to prolong their pain. We are all
afraid of physical pain, psychological suffering and even emotional pain.
In order to
take advantage of the situation to destroy faith, “the unclean spirits,
whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son
of God!’” Confessing that Jesus is the Son of God was one way
to hinder the growth of faith in Him. The unclean spirits wanted to
derail the mission of Jesus. They sought to use His popularity in a
reverse manner to destroy Him. By calling Jesus the Son of God, He would
be recognized as the Messiah, God’s anointed King. However, the
messiahship of Jesus was not that of a political messiah. So, calling
Jesus “messiah” would have put at risk His mission at that stage because it
could arouse the suspicion and fear of the Romans who might react
negatively. Worse still, it could have led to rebellion and uprising as
the zealots were waiting for a nationalist leader to lead them in overthrowing
the Roman conquerors. This would have resulted in much bloodshed and even
provoked a war.
However,
Jesus’ understanding of messiahship was in terms of lowly servanthood,
compassion and service. He did not think in political terms like the
revolutionaries. Hence, Jesus needed to demonstrate what messiahship
meant to Him before He could publicly admit that He was God’s Anointed
One. His mission of love, service, healing, compassion and forgiveness
demarcated His idea of messiahship from that of the Jewish nationalists.
For this reason, Jesus strongly warned the unclean spirits, “not to make him
known.” Like David, Jesus did not seek popularity and fame . He
came for the service of God’s kingdom. And like David, He too was
being attacked not just by the unclean spirits but the Jewish authorities as
well, who became increasingly jealous of His success and popularity and sought
opportunities to get rid of Him.
How then can
we overcome jealousy? Love is necessary to overcome jealousy.
When we love someone more than we love ourselves, we will no longer be
jealous. This was the case of Jonathan. Because of his love for
David, Jonathan was always protecting David from His father. “Saul told
Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now
Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned
David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said, ‘so be on
your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place.’” Not only
did he keep David from his father’s devious plans to kill him, he sought to
speak well of David. “Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he
has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your
advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the
Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and
rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?”
Indeed, for
the love of someone, we will do anything for that person. Parents who are very
attached to their children must love them more than they love themselves.
For the greater good of their children, they must be ready to let them go when
they grow up, be it for overseas study or work; or to marry someone and start a
family of their own. When we love ourselves more, the tendency is for us
to want to possess the person for ourselves. This is not true love but a
love of self. Indeed, if we love someone truly, more than we love
ourselves, we will be willing to let the person go where he or she is truly
happy. In many cases of jealousy between man and woman, it is not because
the man or the woman loves the other more, but each loves himself or herself
more. True love always sets the other free, even as it seeks to
protect the beloved. Jonathan sacrificed his crown for the love of David!
Finally,
those who truly love will not allow jealousy to overcome them. They will seek to
promote harmony and facilitate fellowship. This was the case of Jonathan
who attempted to restore David to his father’s favour. Accordingly, “Saul was
impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not
kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan
brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.” Love desires
what is best for the beloved. It will not be jealous of him or her.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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