Rejection
Jesus said to the twelve, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” Mk 6:7-13
15th Ordinary Sunday Cycle B
One father told his youngest son, “Why can’t you be like kuya who is an honor student? You never received any award.” The wife asked her husband, “When can we have our own car. Your kumpare has two.” The best friend remarked, “Why will you join the beauty contest? You are so skinny.” Among us Filipinos, rejection is more common and easier than affirmation. To reject a person is to make him/her feel unaccepted, unwanted, unloved and to deny or deprive the person of a sense of worth and value.
In the first reading Amos was rejected by Amaziah, priest of Bethel, who said, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Am 7:12-15 In the first place Amos never wanted to be a prophet. He was a mere shepherd and dresser of sycamore trees and yet God chose him to deliver God’s message.
In sending the apostles on their mission Jesus warned them of possible rejection. But He told them not to worry. They need only to shake the dust off their feet in protest. Preaching Jesus’ paradoxes is indeed not palatable to everyone. But hand-picked by the Messiah gave the twelve sufficient courage to do the horrible task. Mk 6:7-13
Yet in the second reading St. Paul wrote the Ephesians that in case of rejection to remember that God chose them and that in choosing them has affirmed them. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” Being God’s chosen representative like Amos and the twelve apostles is enough affirmation to counter every rejection from anyone’s listener. Eph 1:3-10
And as we are affirmed by God, we are called to affirm others. Acting individually and in community, we are called to make our life a cycle of affirmation and our relationships a chain of love.
Always choose your child even if all his efforts produce mediocre results. Choose your parents if they are able to provide for your needs even with cheaper brands.
