Prophets Without Honour

Both the readings of today, Jeremiah 26:1-9 and Matthew 13:54-58, speak of the rejection of God's messenger, and thus also the rejection of God's message itself. Prophet Jeremiah preaches in the Temple of the Lord and is threatened with death. Jesus preaches in the synagogue at his hometown, but is met with disbelief and rejection. “This is the carpenter’s son, surely?… Where did the man get it all?” And Jesus ends with the pitiable words showing his disappointment and perhaps discouragement, “A prophet is despised only in his own country and in his own house.” Prophecy and popularity don't dine together, do they?

As parents, very often we don’t see grace in our own kids. The neighbourhood children are always better: they study better, they behave better, etc. But my own children, they always come second in comparison to others. As family members or relatives, very often we don't accept each other. We often mistake someone's goodness for some pretense or hypocrisy. The opinions from our own dear ones are not really valid. As religious and priests, our own community members have nothing really worthwhile to contribute, so no use listening to them. This may be our attitude with regard to our own. So we need to call experts from outside, and only outside views can be accepted. Perhaps these are the ways in which we reject our own prophets, though tiny they be. But eventually we may be even rejecting God's message and his goodness and love for us.

Yet as Christians, we need to get used to rejection and unpopularity. The cross is the standing icon and image of God, showing us that God knows what it's like to be rejected; God is in solidarity with us in the experience of abandonment; God is not watching the suffering from a safe distance. Somehow, believe it or not, God is in the suffering with us. Much, if not most, of our deep suffering comes from our relationships with those who love us. Not from the terrible events I read about in the newspapers or those that I see on television, but from the relationships with the people with whom I share my daily life. Our pain, deep as it is, is connected with specific circumstances. We do not suffer in the abstract. We suffer because someone hurts us at a specific time and in a specific place. Our feelings of rejection, abandonment, and uselessness are rooted in the most concrete events. But, as Jesus himself shows us, suffering is salvific. Be assured today, God suffers with you.

See also the reflection on Mark 6:1-6 of July 8, 2018, https://anthuvanmaria.blogspot.com/2018/07/prophets.html.