Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Envy is not a pretty word. It is a deadly word. Out of the seven deadly sins, envy is number two. Number one is our other ‘frenemy’, pride.
Saint James says it is the source of all wars and conflicts. “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? You covet but do not possess. You… envy but you cannot obtain. (James 4:1-2) He continues to say: “Where [there is] jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is [also] disorder and every foul practice.
With such scathing comments, what is envy, and what can we do about it?
Envy lurks in the background of our society. We are a society built around envy. And it’s tearing us apart. Not only that. Envy lurks in the background of our hearts and minds, eating us from the inside.
You might not think you succumb to envy, but you probably do. Any time you compare yourself to others, you covet what someone else has, think ill of someone because of their success, grouse when someone is getting something they don’t deserve, or even grouse because they are not getting what they do deserve… the root of those thoughts probably stems from envy.
Envy thrives when it’s putting someone down, through gossip or unkind thoughts. Envy also thrives in ‘selfish ambition’, lifting oneself higher so he or she can look down with disdain on others.
Envy is insatiable – always looking for more to be envious of, never obtaining that which is coveted.
There is an abundance of envy in social media. It might better be called ‘Envy Media’. Facebook envy is commonplace. You see a post. Rather than celebrate someone else’s good fortune, your heart fills with envy. They are doing something you want to do. You might even think less of them because they are showing off. You might even wish them ill will. There is a widespread presence of envy on Facebook. In a study, one in three people felt worse after visiting Facebook and became more disappointed with their lives. The reason: Envy.
Politicians exploit envy. Their messaging is constantly pitting one group against another, stirring up envy between the groups. People are getting unemployment benefits when there are jobs. The rich aren’t paying their fair share of taxes.
Envy is often illustrated with eyes looking around at what others are saying and doing. Edmund Spenser, in his pageant of vices in The Faerie Queene, portrays Envy wearing a cloak embroidered with eyes and chewing a venomous toad. In Dante’s Inferno, the people who succumbed to the sin of envy had a unique purgatory. Their eyes were sewn shut! In life, they spent their time looking around, constantly comparing. Now they have to walk blind and depend on other sightless people to lead them around – a fitting means of rehabilitation. The dragonfly pictured is a Widow Skimmer I photographed off my dock and is likewise looking around with what I imagined as ‘envious eyes’.
Envy is one of the themes in the gospel passage where Jesus is traveling with the disciples (Mark 9:30-37). On their journey, Jesus makes the shocking revelation that he will be handed over to be crucified and killed. Rather than ponder the implications of this in the tragic statement or probe the mystery that “three days after his death the Son of Man will rise” what do the disciples do? They argue about who among them is the greatest!
How did Jesus respond to the envy of his followers? He reminded the disciples of their true identity. Jesus brings a child into their midst.
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me” We might be tempted to think that Jesus is using the child to illustrate purity and innocence. Rather, he chooses a child because children in Jesus’ time had no status, no rights, no privileges, no protection. They were the lowest of the low on the social hierarchy. The Greek word used for ‘child’ is sometimes translated as slave or servant.
The child is nothing in the eyes of the world but everything in the eyes of God. Jesus is telling the disciples they need to drop their envious ways, and become nothing in the eyes of the world, but become everything in the eyes of God.
So what is the antidote? Tradition in the church lists seven deadly sins. Tradition also matches up seven virtues to cultivate and conquer each of these deadly sins. For instance, to counter the sin of pride, one needs to cultivate the virtue of humility, for lust, chastity; for greed, charity.
You’ll probably never guess the virtue listed to overcome the sin of envy. It’s gratitude. The antidote to envy is to cultivate the virtue of gratitude. “Give thanks for all things and in all things.” (Ephesians 5:20)
There is an easy way to do this. Each day, write out 10 things you are thankful for. The next day, write out 10 different things. Replace the eyes of envy with the eyes of gratitude.
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