For several Sundays our second reading is from the letter of St. James. This letter is very practical, dealing with very real aspects of our Christian living. Today the reading points out the existence of things like jealousy, selfish ambition, disorder, wars, and conflicts. They are part of the human experience. They are our experience at times.
James asks an important question: where do they come from? He points out how they come from interior disordered desires, passions, and thoughts. These might include self-absorption, unresolved hurt, and fear. The Christian challenge is to allow the grace and mercy of God to transform them and order them into peace-making, respect, and compassion.
What disordered interior realities are you aware of in yourself? In what ways do you sense that God wants to transform them?