ARE YOU JEALOUS OF JESUS?

 *FRIDAY, October 13, 2023* 


Weekday (27)


First Reading. Joel 1: 13-15; 2: 1-2

Psalm 9: 2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9 (R. see9a)

Gospel. Luke 11: 15-26


TOPIC FOR REFLECTION


 *ARE YOU JEALOUS OF JESUS?* 


Do you know that many of us are jealous of Jesus? 

Below are some of the ways people are jealous of Jesus.


1. If a servant tries to outshine his master, and tries to attract his master's people to himself; such is a sign of jealousy. 

2. If a man of God tries to outshine the God whom he proclaimed by making himself the centre of attraction and not God; such is a sign of jealousy.

3. If a person tries to find fault in God's marvellous and wonderful work, it simply means the person is jealous of God.

4. When one is not happy with a person who is doing great well, who is talented, gifted, and who does great things; such attitude is jealousy not only about the gifted person but about God who gave him such a gift. The message to God is that God, "I am angry with you, I deserve that gift and not him".


Naturally, those who express jealousy simply wish that they are in the position of the person to whom they express their jealousy.


The truth is that some of us are jealous of Jesus in one aspect or another.


The reason today's first reading emphasized that the priests, pastors, and ministers of God are called to represent God, but most are representing themselves. Hence, God said, those in that position should repent and also encourage the congregation to repent.  It went further to say that “the day of the Lord God is coming, a day of darkness and gloom.”


Therefore, the message is also for us to repent of all our evil ways, because no one knows when the trumpet will blow.


Similarly, since the scribes and Pharisees were becoming uncomfortable with Jesus' teaching because He was already popular among the people, they started to pick fault in all He did. They acted this way because they were jealous of Jesus.


Do you want to become jealous of Jesus like them?


So, everything Jesus did was being castigated, and if people no longer appreciate the wonderful miracles of God, then it is a sign of being jealous.


The moment a man of God uses charm, and magical power (juju) to perform a miracle using the name of Jesus shows he is rubbing shoulders with the divine. This action is jealousy of the highest order.


In a nutshell, no kingdom can stand against itself, or else it will not stand. So, let us respect one another, respect God and do not make ourselves the central of attraction or equate ourselves to God, it's a sin.


To become jealous of a person is to become jealous of Jesus, God.


 *Peace ✌️ be with you.* 


 *Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS.* 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DO YOU KNOW WHY AND HOW JESUS OVERCAME HIS TEMPTATION?

Image
 Sunday, February 26, 2023. FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT (A) First Reading. Genesis 2: 7-9; 3: 1-7 Psalm. 51: 3-6, 12-14, and 17 (R. cf. 3a) Second Reading. Romans 5: 12- 19 Gospel. Matthew 4: 1-11 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION  YOUR DESIRE IS YOUR TEMPTATION.  Do you know why JESUS did not fall into temptation? It is because...  1. He is divine and not of the flesh; remember, only flesh is tempted and not the Spirit.  2. He came from Heaven, and not from the earth.  3. He is in the world, but not of the world.  4. All that exists on earth was created THROUGH HIM, AND WITH HIM, AND IN HIM. So, how can what he creates tempt Him the creator? 5. He came to save and to teach us how to be saved, by extension, how to overcome temptation.  I will like to quickly remind us that all temptations in life fall under 3 categories. They are...  1. PLEASURE  2. POWER  3. POSSESSION.  Jesus was tempted by these 3 categories.  They are as follows:  1. The temptation of pleasure: Turn these stones into bread. Jesus did
Read more

CALLING JESUS' NAME WITHOUT FAITH, AFFECTS OUR SPIRITUALITY

Image
 Wednesday, July 5, 2023 St Anthony Mary Zaccaria, P. (Opt Mem) First Reading.  Genesis 21: 5, 8-20 Psalm. 34: 7-8, 10-13 (R. see 7a) Gospel. Matthew 8: 28-34 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION THE WAY YOU CALL JESUS' NAME DETERMINES YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. The way we call the name of Jesus matters most. Some call Jesus' name in a comic manner Some call Jesus in a dramatic way Some call Jesus' name in a social way Some call Jesus' name for the sake of identity Some call Jesus' name to lie and cheat Some call Jesus' name to deceive others  Some call Jesus' name to commit a crime Some call Jesus' name to fight the battle alone  Some call Jesus' name when in a difficult situation, and so on to infinity.  My dear, the truth is that many call Jesus' name without reverence, and as such they will not feel the spirit of Jesus' presence, because once one can not have reverence for a name, how can such a person feels the spirit of that name? Imagine, if someone
Read more

GOD WAS THE FIRST TO HONOUR MARY

Image
 *Wednesday, December 20, 2023*   *THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT*  First Reading. Isaiah 7: 10-14 Psalm.  24: 1-6 (R. see 7c, 10c) Gospel. Luke 1: 26-38 TOPIC FOR REFLECTION   *GOD CHOSE MARY TO HONOUR HER*   *GOD WAS THE FIRST TO HONOUR MARY*  I kindly plead with us not to  1. DISHONOUR whom God HONOURS.  2. DISRESPECT whom God RESPECT 3. DOWNGRADE whom God UPGRADE 4. ATTACK whom God PROTECT 5. HATE whom God LOVES, etc. We should be careful not to allow satan with his evil trick to deceive us that the woman whom God chose to manifest His divine mystery is useless.  The first reading from the prophet Isaiah made it clear that God will give a sign and the sign reads: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel [God is with us].” cf. Isaiah 7: 14  This prophecy was foretold about the 7th century before Christ's birth. (7 BC) Remember that no name was mentioned when the prophecy was made, and centuries after, the prophecy fell on a lady called Mary. 
Read more