Rejection: the foundation of being built (1 Peter 2:4-10)
Story 1: Earlier this week a co-worker responded that she could never bring herself to buy a minivan because it was, what I understood to be, too beneath her. Additionally, she was willing to forgo the practicality of the van for the sake of the SUV since it looked better. Take away: Fear of being rejected, or a fear of suffering at the expense of not being relevant.
Story 2: The following day, another co-worker remarked that when she got married she and her husband both agreed that her maiden name was cooler than her husband's. She stated that her husband wouldn't want her to have his last name, since her maiden name was more unique than his commonplace name. Take away: Fear of being rejected, or a fear of suffering for not being accepted.
Story 3: Last week for a college final I assigned students to present and write a paper on a upcoming health issue. A student chose to present on euthanasia, a legitimate growing health topic. She closed her presentation by stating that while she is a Christian, and she is against euthanasia, it should be permitted as a last resort. The logic being, its better to have death than to suffer. Take away: What we used to call lifespan development is now being reduced to premature death. While we can understand the peer pressure to have cool names and nice cars, we must admit that we have an innate desire, not to regress as we age, but to become holy, to become saints. So how does this happen?
To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong; to choose God’s will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. No saint dare interfere with the discipline of suffering in another saint. The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. The people who do us good are never those who sympathize with us, they always hinder, because sympathy enervates. No one understands a saint but the saint who is nearest to the Saviour.
On this Fifth Sunday of Easter we hear in the second reading of St. Peter that Christ is the living stone, a cornerstone, rejected by humans, but chosen by God. Let's be clear, Christ was a reject and a failure by all human standards. He didn't even have a last name, or a car!
The cure for pain is through Christ's work on cross. Do you want to be built? Do you want to be strong? Do you want to be revered? Proof that this can happen is St. Margaret Clitherow. How do you explain her life? She had it all, looks, youth, a perfect family. This wasn't about her name or her possessions. Her life was about the name of Christ. Her life was built on the foundation of Christ, of being a mother, the most important title on Earth!
Mary, Mother of God Pray that we too accept Jesus into our lives as you did and bear Christ to others!
Mother's Day Prayer
Loving God,
so you watch over your Church.
Bless our mother.
Let the example of her faith and love shine forth.
Grant that we, her family,
may honor her always
with a spirit of profound respect.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
From the Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers. 1988.
