The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time, Year II, 18 January 2024
1 Samuel 18:6-9, 19:1-7 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Mark 3:7-12
"In God I trust; I shall not fear."
Let those words of the psalmist
today be my prayer too, dear Father
especially when jealousy slowly
creeps into me,
when people around me do better,
when they seem to be more
loved or liked or accepted;
like King Saul in the first reading
today, there are times I am filled
with insecurities
with my own self,
with my strengths
and abilities,
most especially,
with your love.
Jealousy arises easily in our hearts… When we truly enjoy God’s unlimited generosity, we will be grateful for what our brothers and sisters receive. Jealousy will simply have no place in our hearts.
Fr. Henri Nouwen
How true were the words
of the late Fr. Henri Nouwen;
jealousy arises easily
in our hearts;
sometimes they just come
without us even
thinking about it;
problem is,
many times we entertain
and let it take over us,
feeling we are a victim
of something,
like King Saul,
or the elder brother in
the parable of the prodigal son,
or those early workers
in the parable of the vineyard
who felt they should be paid more
than those late workers
who were paid with same wage
as theirs.
When good things happen
to others,
teach me to rejoice
with them,
let me be thankful
too for their being blessed
by you;
let me not be jealous
of whatever they have
for you never fail to bless me
too with so many things
they do not have;
let me be more trusting
in your generosity,
O God,
to never have fear of you
running out of blessings
and other good things
for each one of us
according to our own abilities;
let me rejoice
when other people
are blessed like in the gospel today
because whatever good things
that happen around us
are signs
you are with us
in Christ Jesus.
Instead of looking on what
others have,
let me look what I have,
and always,
let that be YOU
in Christ Jesus!
Amen.
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