The Joy of Rejection

“Jesus said to them,

‘Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?’”

Matthew 21:42

Are you thinking that the title of this reflection is paradoxical? Can rejection really be joyful? Rejection is never easy and it usually brings with it anxiety and negatively-charged emotions. Perhaps rejection brings a sense of worthlessness and it makes us question our value and even our dignity. The line from Psalm 118 that Jesus quotes, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” challenges us to see rejection in a whole new way, even finding the joy that comes from it.

The entire earthly life of Jesus has been a contradiction to the Jewish people, challenging them to see the Law, which binds them with God, in a radically different way — not how it has been adapted, but how it was intended to be in accord with the nature of God. One of the biggest challenges for the Jews was to love and pray for their enemies. Another was the Beatitudes. For the Jews in the time of Jesus, someone was truly blessed if they had land and descendants and when things were going well. But Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and those who are persecuted! Instead of clinging to the Law Himself (Jesus), the Jews chose to attach themselves to the law that they have come to adapt to be their own, so when Jesus came to them, they rejected Him because what He preached was seemingly against the law. Jesus is the stone that was rejected by the builders. But, the next part of the verse says it all: He became the cornerstone.

This pattern of the Jewish people was not new at the time of Jesus. In fact, from the times of the prophets, the Israelites have rejected the prophets when they implored them to convert and change their ways. They even plotted to kill them. Just as they treated the prophets, they too treated Jesus. But we know Jesus’s death was not the end. He rose from the dead. His rejection by the people ended not in death, but in life, life that is eternal. So yes there is a joy that comes with rejection — we know that the battle has already been won and that whatever rejection we experience here, especially if for the sake of our faith, is a witness to Christ and His love. As Christians, when we are rejected, it is not because we are not good enough, but because we have been chosen for something else; we have been chosen for heaven.

The next time we experience rejection, whether it be in small ways or larger ways, let us bring it to prayer and join it with the rejection Christ experienced and pray what the Lord quoted, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” confident that the Lord has much bigger plans and that these setbacks are really stones that are building up the Kingdom. May we come to experience the joy that comes with rejection, uniting ourselves to Christ, and seeing the beauty of God’s plan come to fruition.

Attitude of Christ

“Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness.”

Philippians 2:6-7

Continuing with the theme of God’s mercy and generosity, this Sunday’s readings touch on the nature of God and the “attitude of Christ.” In last week’s reflection I mentioned how blessed we are that God is unfair in His dealings with us and this week we are reminded that God’s mercy is extended towards all. Whoever wishes to turn from their sinful ways will receive the mercy of God. Not only this, but St. Paul reminds us of the attitude Christ put on — complete and utter humility.

This is something completely unheard of. Why would an all-powerful Being choose to humble Himself and enter into His own creation, and be subject to their laws? It makes no sense, but again God’s ways are above our ways. It was because of unconditional love, which is God’s very nature, that He took on human flesh to be in complete solidarity with us. He assumed our human condition (except sin) so that He can save us from the destructive end to which life without God will ultimately lead. This week’s reflection continues with an excerpt from my reflection from this past Palm Sunday, “Emptied to the End.”

“Jesus loved us to the very end. For three years He taught and preached and performed numerous miracles while walking on this earth. Many believed but others wanted Him gone. Jesus’s love was the visible expression of the eternal love with which God has loved us. From the healings and miracles to the final sacrifice on the Cross, those were all expressions and manifestations of God’s unconditional love for us.

From the moment God became man to the moment Jesus breathed His last on the Cross, Jesus’s entire life was one of “kenosis” or self-emptying. God chose to empty Himself and condescended to earth leaving the glory of Heaven, being born in the most humble of states. God loves us so much that He was willing to assume our lowly human nature, experiencing all that we do as humans (but sin) so that He might truly understand us but at the same time so that we might dare taste the glory of His divinity. When God assumed our humanity, humanity was forever changed. But this was not enough.

Jesus willingly suffered threats, humiliation, scourging, ridicule, and crucifixion. On the Cross, Jesus was emptied of every last drop of blood and He breathed His last. In breathing His last and giving over His Spirit, Jesus breathed life into the Church. In dying, Jesus gave us life. In emptying Himself to the very end, Jesus fills us with new life.”

May we today and everyday put on the same attitude that Christ had, clothing ourselves in complete humility so that we might come to love others as we are loved and by our example, move others to do the same.

A Generous God

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

Have you ever been in a situation when you found yourself thinking, “Wait a second… that’s not fair!” Maybe at work you and a fellow coworker did the same amount of work but when the end of the week comes he receives praise and you do not or when a coworker who did less than you and yet gets the same bonus. There are some things that just don’t seem fair, but they happen. The ways of human beings are sometimes not fair and biased and rigged. But things with God aren’t exactly “fair” either.

Perhaps you are asking, “What do you mean?” God isn’t fair. And we should be grateful for that. How often do the things that we do, the thoughts that we think, and the words that we say defile us? Think about the that unkind word we said or the last time we wronged someone, and maybe even in ways that are unspeakable, and yet we are still here, alive and breathing. When our sins merit us death, God does not take our lives; instead He forgives. How blessed are we that our God is a God that is not fair!

Because God is unfair and that His ways are above our ways and His thoughts above our thoughts, we have great gift of salvation and the opportunity to experience His creation. God’s mercy is shown to all unconditionally — those who have committed numerous mortal sins, those who have committed venial sins, those who have just come out of confession. God’s love and mercy is freely given; we just need to want to receive it. God loves the murderer on death row as much as He loves us. Our human instincts might tempt us to think, “Well I go to Church every Sunday and I give to the poor, shouldn’t God love me a bit more or my chance getting into heaven higher than that inmate on death row?” The answer is no. Sometimes it may be hard to accept, but when we think about it from a different perspective — “Why does it matter? I am loved by God from all eternity and He sent His Son to die for me! So what if He loves that inmate as much? I should be happy that God is that merciful and loving!”

If we are also able to reflect upon our own choices and mistakes, we ought to be grateful and that should naturally lead us away from comparison with others in regards to our “dignity” before God. One quote from St. Augustine always humbles me and brings me to my knees, especially when I begin to feel I am better than someone else, “Man is a beggar before God.” All human beings are beggars before God — royalty, common people, everyone. Yet, God regards each one of us beggars as His beloved son and daughter. Truly, how generous is our God, and how grateful we ought to be that our God does not treat us fairly!