Fr Rory has written above about two characteristics of living:- journeying and telling stories. Someone wrote this story about Mother Teresa in Time Magazine in answer to the question “Are we poor?” She was asked about the materialism of the West. “The more you have, the more you are occupied,” she contends. “But the less you have the freer you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is a joyful freedom. There is no television here, no this, no that. This is the only fan in the whole house…and it is for the guests. But we are happy. “I find the rich poorer,” she continues. “Sometimes they are lonelier inside…The hunger for love is much more difficult to fill than the hunger for bread…The real poor know what joy is.” When asked about her plans for the future, she replied, “I just take one day. Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not come. We have only today to love Jesus.” Is there anyone in this area as rich as Mother Teresa? The Gospel for this Sunday contains a story with which we can identify ourselves. It is the story of Jesus’ rejection by fellow-townsmen and is a story that has happened to most of us. We might have experienced the pain of rejection caused by hurts, wounds, betrayal, divorce, abandonment, violated trust, trauma, neglect, or abuse in its various forms. What about rejection by those closest to us? Often our friends, families, or childhood companions fail to listen to, and refuse to accept, the love and encouragement that we offer to them, because they are so familiar with us as we were that they are unable to see us as God’s appointed instruments, the agents of God’s healing and saving grace.
There is another side to this story which we should think about. How often do we discount God’s agents through prejudice? How often do we fail to see God’s image in them because of our own hardheartedness? We must realise that God’s power is always available to transform even the most unlikely people.
Let us acknowledge the prophets of God’s goodness around us. God is always present giving us his message through our nearest and dearest and all we meet. Since God uses them as His prophets to convey His message to us, it is our duty to acknowledge and honour them. Let us express our appreciation today for our families – spouses for each other, parents and children for each other. Remember to say “thank you” for any act of kindness offered to us. We can all act as God’s messengers of love and light to those around us. At the same time we should recognise God’s presence in our lives through His words in the Bible and through the advice, help and examples of others.