HEEDING OR RESISTING A PROPHET!
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
July 8, 2012
We all know what it means … to be ignored, to not even be
considered, to be rejected. Scriptures is full of such stories of rejection,
with no less than the Lord Jesus Christ as the centerpiece. At times, you and I
can feel – rightly or wrongly – that we are the poster boy or poster girl of
such painful experiences.
I had my own brush with such a “forgettable” chapter in my
life … yes – forgettable in theory at least, but not quite in reality! One does
not easily give up on such debilitating memories. Human nature tends to hold on
to such things, and our fallen nature makes it even more difficult indeed, to
“let by-gones be by-gones” – easier said than done, despite what they say about
Christian forgiveness.
Today, the day of the Lord, the 14th in ordinary
time, I would like to think I am one with everyone – and, I mean everyone – who
ever felt the uncomfortable feeling of being resisted, being refused, being
unwanted. Welcome to the club of humanity in general!
Welcome, too, to the story of our lives, a story that we
share deeply with that of the people of God. Ezekiel knew exactly what he was
getting into. He tells us so himself. God called him thus: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have
rebelled against me.”
Rebels twice over! Rebels who have rebelled against God!
Rebels whose favorite phrase was not any different from the original,
quintessential rebel, Satan, who said that most notorious line: “non serviam!” – “I will not serve!”
Yes … for all our personal sad and sob stories of rejection
from others, stories that we all can rehash and recount with passion and
panache at the slightest provocation, there is one part of the story we would
rather not tell and retell – that part in us that said, “No, I will not serve” … No, I will not follow … I refuse … I reject …
I won’t do as told!”
St. Paul, for all his personal sanctity, also had his share
of that “thorn in the flesh.” Whatever it was, since he gives no details, it
would be safe to assume, that it was some kind of situation that kept him in
pain for long stretches of time, something that, in American parlance, was
simply something “that won’t go away.”
I had my own share of this “thorn in the flesh” via my “auto immunity”
reactions that manifest themselves in chronic skin rashes and itchy patches,
that just sprang out of nowhere 8 years ago. I did worse than Paul, who begged
the Lord only three times. I do not just beg. I complain … I rant.
Today, my heart goes out to all my readers and hearers who
are currently the object of such rejection on the part of others. I am one with
you all, who currently are doing so much good and yet receive so much flak, so
much uncalled for criticism, so much resistance. My thoughts go to fellow
priests who can’t seem to jell with certain powerful blocks from among the
laity who act as self-appointed “gate-keepers” and preservers of even some
unholy “traditions” in the parish. My thoughts go, too, to lay people who are
ignored and even at times, humiliated by their pastors, who feel threatened
with their presence and good ideas. My heart also goes out to those who, on
account of the machinations and influential manipulative tactics of those who
are very well connected with those in power, suffer innocently, and are
condemned unjustly, like Padre Pio of Pietrelcina suffered, like St. Benedict
Menni suffered – like I suffered at just about the same time, my physical
version of “thorn in the flesh” began to afflict my skin.
I have a personal message to give them – no, not mine, but
God’s! I have the strength of character and dedication and commitment of
Ezekiel to firm up their sagging spirits. I have the honesty and sincerity of
St. Paul, who confessed, despite his continued pain, in his faith in the Lord
who told him: “My grace is sufficient for
you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
A priest over the past almost 30 years, I have been there;
done that. Name it, and I can most likely tell you I have undergone something
at least similar.
I have the power of Christ’s love to share with everyone of
you – the same Christ who was suspected, mistrusted, and resisted: “Where did this man get all this?” That
was the best line his town mates could utter. What could a son of a lowly
carpenter do?
But he had the last word. When he died and everybody who was
somebody then thought they had gotten rid of him forever. But He rose from the
dead. As he promised! As he said!
He talks to you personally today, as He talks to me
personally even as I talk to you. “A
prophet is not without honor except in his native place.” My thorn in the flesh is still in place. It
still makes me suffer. Some people still do not believe in me, even as by far
the great majority of those I deal with do. But it is no longer the most
important question. The most important question now for you and me is simply
this: Will you now continue to resist the Lord, or will you now heed Him and
His word?
Know this for certain, “whether
you heed or resist,” “they will [eventually] know that a prophet has been in
[our] midst.”
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