Despite being God’s Son, Jesus wasn’t spared this human reality of rejection, as we hear in today’s Gospel. This episode continues the story of last week’s Gospel, when Jesus was celebrated by the people of his hometown of Nazareth, who listened with rapt attention to what he had to say. Even in this story, we are told they were amazed by him and spoke highly of him. But by the end, when at last they find out that he’s not going to do what they want, and that his mission doesn’t conform with their expectations, their rejection of him is so great they literally throw him out of town.
This turn of events perhaps feels surprising, but upon reflection, it probably shouldn’t be. Jesus encountered rejection throughout his life, from his birth in Bethlehem, when King Herod seeks to kill him, to the final rejection of the crowds that cry “Crucify him!” I mentioned last week that Jesus has come to fulfill God’s promise of helping those in need, of bringing his joy, healing, and peace to those who were lowly. The reality though is that we human beings often reject those gifts; there is something deep within us that often recoils at what is good for us and rejects what we most need. We call that reality sin, when we choose other things and follow other desires instead of choosing God as our greatest good. God knew that, and sent his Son also for that reason – to confront our sinfulness, to lay it bare, and finally uproot and defeat it by his Cross, Death, and Resurrection. Even now, the reality of sin is present among us, even in us; though it’s been conquered, it continues to wage little skirmishes in our wills and egos.
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| The Brow of the Hill Near Nazareth (c. 1890) by James Tissot |
Jesus was rejected because of sin in the human heart, and it’s for that reason that we wrestle with rejection, too. I mentioned last week that we share in the mission of Jesus; because we have been baptized in him, and are members of his One Body, we are also sent to those in need. But as we do that, we should recognize that at times, we will be rejected for our faith, and for our identity in Christ. It’s not a possibility; it’s a certainty – it happened to the Lord, and it will happen to us as well. Maybe it will be the scorn of those who mock our belief and our prayers; maybe it will be the rejection of those who say the Church needs to get with the times, or the silent rejection of those who walk way from it altogether; maybe it will be the scorn of those who don’t want to forgive, or work for justice, or seek peace and reconciliation. Often, it won’t be anything overt, but just hardened hearts, fractured relationships, and a temptation to make compromises in what we hold to be true.
In all these ways and more, rejection can be painful, as it surely must have been for Jesus, to have his own friends and neighbors, people who he’d known since childhood, drive him to the edge of town and want to throw him off a cliff. But notice how he responds. He doesn’t let the crowd’s anger and jealousy disturb him, but rather he passes peacefully through the midst of them. Jesus was focused on being faithful to his Father’s will, because he knew that his Father loved him. And that’s how he would have us respond too: with love. St. Paul, in fact, reminds us what that means in the second reading: responding with patience, kindness, not jealousy or rudeness, not being quick-tempered, not brooding over injury, but bearing and enduring all things. If you think about it, that’s a perfect description of Jesus himself, in this Gospel or any other. When we encounter rejection, we too can be Christ-like, confident in the love of the Father and the share we have in that.
There is one last piece to this puzzle, which is this: at times, we are the ones rejecting the Lord. Despite our faith in Jesus, despite our identity as part of his Body, at times we don’t want to accept what God wants to give us. We know that sin still has some hold over us. That’s why it can be okay, even good, for us to experience rejection from others. It can help to humble us, make us more patient and kind, and remind us perhaps of our own faults and sins, those areas of our lives where we need to stop keeping God at arm’s length. In the degree to which we need to still be purified of sinfulness, a little bit of suffering can help us to love the One who was crucified for us a little more and love ourselves a little less.
Friends, as Saint Paul reminds us, we’re all awaiting the day when we see God face to face, and can understand all of the experiences of this life, good and bad, in the way that he does. Until that time, let’s suffer rejection with love, and make sure our love for the Lord never leads us to reject him. For that, and for all of our prayers, may the grace of this Eucharist come to aid us.
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