20191228
DEALING
WITH REJECTION
28 December,
2019, Saturday, Holy Innocents, Martyrs
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Red.
|
First reading
|
1 John 1:5-2:2 ©
|
The blood of Jesus Christ purifies us all from sin
This
is what we have heard from Jesus Christ,
and
the message that we are announcing to you:
God
is light; there is no darkness in him at all.
If we
say that we are in union with God
while
we are living in darkness,
we
are lying because we are not living the truth.
But
if we live our lives in the light,
as he
is in the light,
we
are in union with one another,
and
the blood of Jesus, his Son,
purifies
us from all sin.
If we
say we have no sin in us,
we
are deceiving ourselves
and
refusing to admit the truth;
but
if we acknowledge our sins,
then
God who is faithful and just
will
forgive our sins and purify us
from
everything that is wrong.
To
say that we have never sinned
is to
call God a liar
and
to show that his word is not in us.
I am
writing this, my children,
to
stop you sinning;
but
if anyone should sin,
we
have our advocate with the Father,
Jesus
Christ, who is just;
he is
the sacrifice that takes our sins away,
and
not only ours,
but
the whole world’s.
|
Responsorial
Psalm
|
|
Psalm 123(124):2-5,7-8 ©
|
Our
life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler.
If
the Lord had not been on our side
when
men rose up against us,
then
would they have swallowed us alive
when
their anger was kindled.
Our
life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler.
Then
would the waters have engulfed us,
the
torrent gone over us;
over
our head would have swept
the
raging waters.
Our
life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler.
Indeed
the snare has been broken
and
we have escaped.
Our
help is in the name of the Lord,
who
made heaven and earth.
Our
life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler.
|
Gospel
Acclamation
|
cf.Te Deum
|
Alleluia,
alleluia!
We
praise you, O God,
we
acknowledge you to be the Lord;
the
noble army of martyrs praise you, O Lord.
Alleluia!
|
Gospel
|
Matthew 2:13-18 ©
|
The massacre of the innocents
After the wise
men had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
‘Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and
stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child and
do away with him.’ So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with
him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was
to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet:
I
called my son out of Egypt.
Herod was furious
when he realised that he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem
and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two
years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise
men. It was then that the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were
fulfilled:
A
voice was heard in Ramah,
sobbing
and loudly lamenting:
it
was Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing
to be comforted because they were no more.
DEALING WITH
REJECTION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 JOHN 1:5-2:2; MATTHEW 2:13-18 ]
We are created for love
and for relationship with
our fellowmen and with God. Man cannot live without love and fellowship
since he is created in the image and likeness of God. Having fellowship
is a sign that we are also in fellowship with God. The slaughtering of the
innocent children by Herod is symbolic of the evil of humanity that rejects its
own kind. Such pain is expressed in the citation of Jeremiah, “A voice was
heard in Ramah, sobbing and loudly lamenting: it was Rachel weeping for her
children, refusing to be comforted because they were no more.”
Indeed, because we are created to belong
to each other, rejection by our fellowmen is one of the most painful
things in life. Children who are rejected by their parents often lose
their self-confidence and self-esteem. They always feel that they are not
good enough and hence either become ambitious, always wanting to add more and
more jewels to their crown or become a nervous wreck, failing in
everything. This is the consequence of a society that believes only in
meritocracy where we are valued not as persons who are God’s children but for
what we can do and contribute to the lives of others. And because we see our
self-worth in terms how successful we are, we live under the shadow of
rejection, fearing that if one day we lose our status in society, we will not
be loved anymore.
Many of our reactive
behaviours, our temperament and character originate from the way we have been
accepted by our loved
ones. Abortion is of course the worst form of rejection. This
is why abortion, which is the killing of an innocent, vulnerable and
defenseless life, is inexcusable because it hurts the child most deeply.
It is unthinkable for a baby to believe that his or her own mother and father
would terminate his or her life when he or she belongs to them. Abortion
is a withholding of love, the refusal to acknowledge the existence of the child
and his or her relationship with his or her parents. This results in a
loss of identity.
Rejection can also take
the form of adoption or foster care.
Again, the emotional and psychological impact on these children is
incalculable. Adopted children often live with the emotional guilt that
there is something wrong with them or that they are not worthy enough of
love. They cannot explain why their biological parents rejected them and
gave them away for adoption. Often, even if the adopted parents are very
loving, they cannot help but feel unloved. A child who is separated from
his or her biological parents somehow feels incomplete and rejected. In
line with this, we should consider those children born either of surrogate
mothers or conceived in a test-tube. If the Church forbids such artificial
means of conception, it is not only because it simply goes against the laws of
nature but that children conceived without the natural ambience of a mother’s
warmth, love and protection from the very first days of his or her life will
grow up emotionally and psychologically impacted.
Rejection takes place
especially in divorce. Children
find it difficult to accept their parents’ divorce because they yearn for unity
and fellowship. They come from the love of their parents and therefore
desire to love and be loved by both parents. When children are forced to
choose either one of the parents, they feel tremendous pain from the separation
of their source of life and love. Regardless how much a single parent can
love his or her child, no single parent can complete his or her life because
the child knows that he or she belongs to both parents. One wonders what
incalculable damage children adopted by same sex couples will suffer! How
can such a couple provide holistic formation and love to their adopted
children?
Rejection also takes
place in marriage.
Adultery and infidelity are forms of rejection. When our love is
betrayed, we feel terribly rejected and lonely. One must not be naïve to
think that such rejection happens only when a spouse has an adulterous
relationship or affair with someone else. In truth, before any act of
adultery happens, it has already taken place in our hearts. This explains
why Jesus taught that when we desire someone else in our hearts, we have
already committed adultery. When a couple no longer loves each other,
listens and shares each other’s joys and sorrows, pains and struggles, failures
and successes, the seeds of adultery and divorce would have already been
planted because they are not in fellowship! Many married couples live a
lie, pretending to be married in the eyes of the world when in the confines of
their house they are always quarrelling, waging cold wars and treating each
other indifferently. To pretend that our spouse still loves us when we no
longer feel understood, appreciated, trusted and loved, is one of the most
painful lies that married couples live.
Finally, those in exile, migrant
workers, the poor, those condemned wrongly and imprisoned unjustly and the ill,
especially those suffering from infectious diseases, suffer rejection
as well. They are like the lepers in Jesus’ time; rejected by society and
separated from their loved. They too suffer much pain and isolation
because they are marginalized by society.
What is the cause of all
these forms of rejection in society?
It always begins with the rejection of God and His love. St John wrote,
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him
a liar, and his word is not in us.” Through our sins, our lack of
love for God and our neighbours, we have perpetuated the pain of rejection in
our lives and our history.
How can we overcome
rejection in our own lives?
Firstly, we must remember that Jesus was the first to be rejected.
He was the first to be exiled, to be a migrant. St John wrote in the prologue,
“He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him.” (Jn 1:11) St Matthew illustrates the
beginning of Jesus’ rejection with the story of Herod’s persecution. The
angel alerted Joseph and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother with you
and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends
to search for the child and do away with him.” Truly, throughout
the life of Jesus, He was faced with rejection by those whom He loved.
His own relatives and countrymen also rejected Him. So if we feel that we
are alone when we are rejected, then we must identify with Jesus who was
rejected many times over; not just rejected but even put to death in a most
merciless and cruel death. If we desire to be healed of our brokenness
that comes from rejection, especially from our parents and loved ones, we need
to contemplate on the rejection of Jesus and apply His forgiveness of His
enemies to our own.
Secondly, let us take courage that
we are never alone even when we are rejected by the people who should be our
protectors and guardians. God, in the final analysis, is our shield
and refuge. He will somehow see us through and send us people who can
help us to feel His unconditional love. Indeed, if we open our eyes wide
enough, we can see how God comes to our help through others who love us, even
though they may be strangers to us. Let us cling to the
unconditional and amazing love of God.
Truly, the bottom line in today’s
scripture readings is that regardless of our sufferings that come from
rejection and exile, either because of the sins of others or because of our own
sins, all sufferings can purify us, strengthen us and lead to new life. Jesus’
innocent suffering and death ushered in the resurrection. Our tears too,
whether caused by the tragedies of life, injustices and faults of others, or by
our own sins and mistakes, can lead us to true joy. If we walk the path
of the Holy Innocents, then we who desire true healing must imitate Jesus, the
Innocent One, in setting our enemies free and view such painful and unpleasant
events as opportunities to grow in fortitude in our faith and be purified in
love.
In the final analysis, Jesus is
our healer and antidote to the pain of rejection. Knowing that Jesus is our
advocate with the Father and is the expiation for our sins, we can be confident
therefore that “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” which
includes the healing of our emotional and psychological wounds that come from
rejection and alienation. So if we want healing from rejection and
separation, we must, like Jesus, forgive those who have rejected us in one way
or another by walking with Jesus in forgiving those who have hurt us. Not
only did He forgive His enemies, but He prayed for them and became their
advocate with the Father! Should we too not pray for our enemies
likewise, be their intercessors and excuse them before our Heavenly Father,
saying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights
Reserved
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