the devil's envy - 32nd week tuesday

Our first reading today is taken from the book of Wisdom and I believe all of us are familiar with this reading since we often read this during funeral masses or even in masses during the wake or generally in masses for the dead.  Today this is read without this context and we are going to read and reflect on it as men and women who are generally at the peak of their life and health.

The reading begins by affirming that we were made in the image of God’s own nature.  What does this mean?  It means that we are endowed with reason – we do not just have knowledge and understanding but we are also capable of seeing meaning in what we do and in the things around us.  By being created in God’s image we share in his nature as creator, we were given the responsibility of using the goods of this world and to care for them, not to misuse them or abuse them but to use it for our good and the good of others.  By sharing in God’s nature we can distinguish right from wrong and we have free will, we can choose – we can choose to do good, we can also choose to do evil – we are capable of choosing.  And lastly by sharing in the nature of God we were meant to live forever. God shared with us his immortality.  Man is the image of God’s eternity.  However, our reading says, death came into the world because of the devil’s envy.

Two things to bring with us home.

First, it helps when we look at things with the perspective of eternity.  It is difficult to understand suffering and pain when we consider only this life, a life that would end in death eventually.  It is difficult to accept poverty, it is difficult to accept difficulties in life when we view life as life only in this world.  But things change when we have eternity in mind.  Every challenge faced with patient endurance, every trial and temptation faced with the persistence to do good and to do only what pleases God, every persecution faced with courage and hope believing that God will reward us for the good that we do in the life to come – all these come from the perspective that sees life as eternity.  We can better persevere in the good when we have an eye to eternity.

Not having an eye to eternity, we also become irresponsible.   But we should remember there is life after death and so there is accountability even beyond this life.  There is life after death and therefore there is reward and punishment that goes beyond this life.  Reward is not only in this life.  Punishment is not only in this life.  That is why when we bring with us the perspective of eternity, we become more responsible with our decisions and actions in life.

The second point which we could reflect with us is to be aware that more than just the sin of Adam and Eve it was also the devil’s envy that brought death into the world.  The devil lost heaven and so he became envious when God created man in his image and likeness. He was damned and so he desired that all human beings will also damned with him.  So St. Thomas warns us that when the devil tempts us to envy, he is actually enticing us to that which is central in his heart.  The devil brought death to us because he was envious.  In our community and even in our family when we are envious at each other, when we become unhappy with the success of others, when we are angry at the joy and prosperity of others we also bring about death – death to the community, death to the family.  Nothing can put the family and the community down as efficiently as the envy of some of its members.  Remember envy is central in the devil’s heart.