"A Jewish story tells of the good fortune of a hardworking farmer. The Lord appeared to this farmer and granted him three wishes, but with the condition that whatever the Lord did for the farmer would be given double to his neighbor.
The farmer, scarcely believing his good fortune, wished for one hundred cattle. Immediately, he received one hundred cattle, and he was overjoyed, until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred. Next he wished for one hundred acres of land, and again he was filled with joy, until he saw that his neighbor had two hundred acres of land.
Rather than celebrating God's goodness, the farmer could not escape feeling jealous and slighted because his neighbor had received more. Finally, he stated his third wish -- that God would strike him blind in one eye. And God wept.
When we reject God's love for others... the Pharisee, the Samaritan, the Muslim.... we are rejecting God's love of ourselves... "when all the while, we could be rejoicing at how much we've been given and how much we've been loved." God seeks to restore us, heal us and make us whole again. No one else seems to want to do that.
Posted on Midrash by the Rev. E. Allen Siebold
Cornerstone Community Church of Lansingburgh, Troy (New York)
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