REJECTIONS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Friday in the Fourth Week of Lent  is, “Rejections!”

Question: How well do we deal with rejections?

They happen.

TODAY’S READINGS

We find this theme in today’s two readings.

In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 - we hear that those who try to be just and fair and lead a good life - are rejected by those  who don’t want to go that way. Those who don’t cheat - those who try to be good - often make the bad feel guilty - and they want to retaliate.

In today's gospel  from John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-20 - we hear more and more about Jesus experiencing rejections. Folks want to kill him - the ultimate rejection.

SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION

If you’ve seen the movie, Shawshank Redemption, you know the ongoing theme of "Red" - Ellis Boyd Redding - played by Morgan Freeman. He keeps on coming up for parole in the Shawshank Prison and every time he is rejected. You see the stamp come down on paper - with the word “REJECTED” stamped on the paper. “Rejected!” and the word seems to fill the entire screen.

When we are rejected we want to scream - to fill the entire scene with our scream.

NEWMAN STREET PARK

Yesterday I was walking by that little park at the bottom of the street down from St. Mary’s Church.

There are no kids or parents in the swing and climbing section - but there was a mother and two tiny little kids in the basketball area. The mother throws a soccer ball to the little girl - instead of to the little boy - who then throws a tantrum. Did he feel rejected by his mother? Will he be that way for the rest of his life - screaming when someone else gets chosen ahead of him?  I don’t know. Time will tell.

Rejection.

PART OF LIFE

Rejections are part of life.

A basketball team has 5 players on the floor at a time. A baseball team has 9 players on the field at a time. Lacrosse has 10.  Some players seem to spend their entire time as second stringers and never get into a game. Some kids don’t make the team.

People date and then break up - one is often hurt - feeling rejection.

People get divorced and sometimes their kids feel deep rejection.

“What am I, chopped liver?”

Some 115 cardinals were up for pope - only 1 got elected. It seems he was a surprise pick.  How did the front runners take it? Were they angry?

Not everyone gets into the school play. You can’t have two Dorothy’s or 2 Scare Crows or 2 Tin Men in The Wizard of Oz.  A kid thinks she does a great job in a play,  but nobody is there after the show to give her a dozen roses.  What does that feel like?

For the past 25 years or more I've seen kids get trophies - even though their team didn't win. Is that smart. Is it healthier if only the winning team gets the trophy and there are no trophies for second place?  Which helps people prepare better for the future?

How well do I do with rejections - or experiences which we interpret as rejections?

TODAY IS THE FEAST OF ST. CLEMENT HOFBAUER

Today - we Redemptorists celebrate the feast of St. Clement Hofbauer. If he didn’t become a Redemptorist - we wouldn’t be here in Annapolis. It was our place in Vienna, Austria that sent Redemptorists to American in 1832.

Clement Hofbauer and a buddy, Thaddeus Hubl, came down to Rome with the idea of joining a religious order and becoming priests. On one of their visits, one morning they decided to go to the church whose bells rang first.  It was the Redemptorist Church of San Giuliano’s.

They became Redemptorists in Italy and were told to go back and start the Redemptorists on their side of the Alps. They couldn’t get into Austria. They were rejected,  so they went to Warsaw, Poland. They worked there for 21 years - but were rejected and had trouble getting located anywhere.

St. Clement experienced lots of rejections - but never gave up.

It’s life.

Redemptorists all know the story - we've heard it 100 times - about the time he went into a bar to beg for money for his orphanage. Some guy laughed at him and spit beer into his face. Clement says, “That’s for me. How about something for my orphans?" He got about 100 silver coins from the people in the bar.

How did those orphans feel having St. Clement and other Redemptorists caring for them.

CONCLUSION: JESUS CHRIST

Suggestion: when you have experienced a rejection find a cross. They are at the end of rosaries - or picture this gigantic cross here at St. John Neumann’s Church - and ask Jesus for help.

Picture stamped over this image of Jesus - in big red letters: REJECTED.