Fr. Kevin's Cluttered Desk
Sunday, September 15, 2019
Jealousy is one of those lovely sins that can bite us so very often. We might even believe that we are above jealousy but are we really? I remember in school many years ago where people would be jealous of who you hung out with or spent time with, or questioned why you would talk to or be with one person and not another. This never seems to change, we find the same thing in our adult lives. I had a parishioner in Calgary who would never come visit me in the office, they were afraid people might talk if they were seen coming and going from my office. So instead we would meet at Tim Hortons, which then led to people wondering why I was meeting this woman away from the office and were we hiding something. Even when her husband would sit with us people wondered why they were spending time with me. I cannot say what the issue was but when it was resolved, people began to question why I was not having coffee with her or them anymore. Jealousy, judgement and the “national inquirer”, people want to know and if they don’t know, they assume.
The story of the prodigal son is full of this, assumptions, judgements and jealousy. The story never grows old because we live it all the time. There was a game we played in Youth Ministry, where everyone had to write down who their best friend was. The assumption was the youth would write down Jesus. Sadly it did not work that way, and it became a big problem as they talked about who they wrote down and how some people felt hurt because they thought they should be someone’s best friend. Again, none of this grows old, for we seem to live it all the time. Small children, and older children, saying, “Mom loves you more than the rest of us” is not unheard of. Jealousy, judgment and the need to know.
If you take the story of the prodigal son and read it slowly placing your name in the place of the younger son, read it again as the father and again using your name for the older son. What comes to your mind? When I place my name in the place of the father I am struck by the thought, “What is wrong with these people?” As the younger son I often think of God’s forgiveness, and as the older son I often think life is not fair. And then I remember, life is always fair, equal just looks different all the time.
Peace Fr. Kevin
The story of the prodigal son is full of this, assumptions, judgements and jealousy. The story never grows old because we live it all the time. There was a game we played in Youth Ministry, where everyone had to write down who their best friend was. The assumption was the youth would write down Jesus. Sadly it did not work that way, and it became a big problem as they talked about who they wrote down and how some people felt hurt because they thought they should be someone’s best friend. Again, none of this grows old, for we seem to live it all the time. Small children, and older children, saying, “Mom loves you more than the rest of us” is not unheard of. Jealousy, judgment and the need to know.
If you take the story of the prodigal son and read it slowly placing your name in the place of the younger son, read it again as the father and again using your name for the older son. What comes to your mind? When I place my name in the place of the father I am struck by the thought, “What is wrong with these people?” As the younger son I often think of God’s forgiveness, and as the older son I often think life is not fair. And then I remember, life is always fair, equal just looks different all the time.
Peace Fr. Kevin
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