Why is it easier for us to cry with others, even with total strangers like the TV drama actors and actresses we follow daily than to rejoice with others’ joy? Why is it that when we see someone crying, we are softened by the scene, we are touched, even moved with pity especially if something bad happens to him? There’s nothing wrong with that and it is even good because we sympathize with others’ pain or suffering. But how come we feel irritated, even look with disdain, when a group of people is having fun at the next table at a restaurant? Why can’t we laugh or smile when other people are happy?
Jesus is teaching us in today’s Gospel that we are all blessed and that we must share that joy of being blessed with others. There are times when we feel life is unfair, but the truth is that we are so focused with the blessings of others rather than on what we have. What we need is a new attitude towards God’s goodness in the great blessing we have in Christ Jesus, like St. Paul who boasts, “For to me life is Christ.” What else can we ask for when we have Jesus who would never leave us nor fail us unlike people or wealth or fame?
God’s ways and thoughts are different because He is not concerned with wealth, power, or fame — the very things we humans are so preoccupied with. If someone has more, we want to have much more. This envy brings us apart, cheapens our very being, forgetting the most important must-have in life — God Himself. How ironic in this age of so many goods, we have become so envious of what others have, unlike before when there was only one TV set at home, one phone line, or even one set of clothes when we learned how to share and defer to others whatever we have. Notice how much joy and love we had 30 or 40 years ago despite the lesser things we used to have than today. We tend to forget our humanity when we get so focused on material things, that we are brothers and sisters equally blessed.
---------- REFLECTION QUESTIONS ----------
What is your attitude when good things happen to other people? Do you share their joy or think negatively of them? Are you generous in complimenting others? Examine your attitude about the joys and blessings of others.
Lord Jesus Christ, wash away my selfishness, cleanse me of my envious ways, and enable me to see others as brothers and sisters in You. Amen.
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