14 TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
George Washington Carver was an African-American scientist who did some pioneering
work on the lowly peanut. In January 1921, he was called before the House Ways and Means
Committee to explain his work. As an African-American, he was the last one on the list, and so
after three days of waiting, he finally got to make his presentation. Even though he was treated
rudely by members of Congress, he had prayed before he made his presentation, "Whatever
they said of me, I knew that I was a child of God, and so I prayed 'Almighty God, let me carry
out your will'". He got to the podium and was told that he had 20 minutes to speak. Well, his
presentation was so engaging that he was granted several extensions until he had spoken for
several hours. At the end of his talk, everyone on the committee stood and applauded him.
There may be many times when we will experience mistreatment, misunderstanding, or
outright rejection like George Washington Carver initially had. We are in good company. The
prophets were given a difficult mission by God. They were to speak to the king and to the
people and tell them to change their ways. The prophets rightly knew this message would fall
on deaf ears. They knew too they could be persecuted and rejected for delivering their
message. Ezekiel understood well this dilemma. He didn’t want to go to the people, yet he
knew that God’s message must be spoken. He was told to go to the people and tell them to
reform or they would be taken into captivity. The people rejected his words thinking he was
foolish and they had nothing to worry about. They were the chosen of God, after all. God
would take care of them. Because of their stubbornness and refusal to change they were
punished.
St. Paul too had many successes in preaching to the people about Jesus, but he also
experienced rejection. This rejection was like a thorn in his side that sometimes made it hard
to continue, but he knew that he must.
Jesus himself experienced rejection at many levels. He had been rejected by the
religious leaders who would eventually hand him over to Pilate to be crucified. Jesus had been
rejected by some of his disciples who couldn’t bear to hear Jesus’ challenging words. Peter
denied knowing Jesus and the other Apostles even ran away in Jesus’ hour of need. Today we
hear of Jesus’ rejection by his family and by the people of Nazareth.
Jesus had been travelling throughout Galilee and Judea preaching the word of God and
healing the sick. He had given sight to the blind, freed a man with a demon, cured a leper, and
called Apostles to follow with him in this mission of the Father. He even calmed a powerful
storm that frightened the Apostles, but caused them to wonder who is this man.
The people of Nazareth thought they knew the answer to that question. They figured
Jesus out. He was the son of Joseph and Mary. He was known to be a carpenter. He was a
simple laborer in a tiny little town on the outskirts of Israel. He was no better and no worse
than anyone else.
Yet, Jesus knew that God had a plan for His people and He was bringing it. Jesus was the
bearer of light and peace that would change the nation…just not his own little town of
Nazareth. Yet, perhaps Jesus thought that if anyone would know him well enough it would be
his own family and his own village. Certainly here they would recognize him and hale him the
great prophet and Messiah he was. The people could not do this. They saw Jesus as too
ordinary, too much like them. They knew they were sinners. They knew they didn’t have any
special claim on God or His message. So, who does Jesus think he is saying that he is the chosen
one of God? It was too much for them. They rejected Jesus and it would be the last time he
would return to his hometown.
Rejection is always hard. It hurts us deeply. It hurts us even when we did nothing
wrong. Getting rejected by an employer when we are looking for work is hard to accept.
Getting rejected for a car loan because your FICO score is too low hurts. Getting rejected by the
college you wanted to attend can be very frustrating. Being rejected by someone you love who
found another cuts very deeply. Being rejected by friends because you won’t do something
illegal or immoral is never easy. You second guess yourself and wonder why you should follow
the rules.
If, however, we are rejected because we remain faithful to God and do His will, then
“we should rejoice and be glad because our reward in heaven will be great.” Yes, that is what
Jesus promised. But at the moment of the rejection it is hard to remember those words. Yet,
with the conviction of our words and actions we strive to carry on. We strive to do God’s will,
to be merciful, to do justice, to proclaim the sacredness of life and the sanctity of true marriage,
we know this is what we are called to do. May we have the courage of God to never give up,
and the assurance of God in our words and deeds.