Homily: October 3, 2025, Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Rejection)

 “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me.”

When I was a seminarian studying in Rome, one difficulty I faced yearly was the renewal of the stay permit. It was to be renewed every year, but it required three months to process. So effectively, I had to send in a new application after nine months of getting the permit previously. The cycle repeats year after year.

However, it was not a straightforward process. The office that processed those permits was notorious for rejecting applications. Every year, my application would be rejected once or twice for minor reasons.

It was only years later that I discovered by chance, those applications which got approved immediately without any problem were not perfect applications, but had extra enclosures along with the applications, something like a €50 note.

I could have done the same, but I didn’t. I took consolation then that the office was not rejecting me nor my applications. In reality, it was rejecting integrity and respect for their law.

Rejection can be painful, especially for something worthy, precious and valuable. It pains not just the party being rejected, but for the rejector who is depriving himself of a true gift. The pain is not in the hit, but also in the loss.

Jesus Himself knew rejection. He was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth, in Capernaum, in Chorazin. Earlier in this same Gospel, we heard how a Samaritan village refused to welcome Him. Even when He healed the possessed man in the land of the Gerasenes, they asked Him to leave. They could not see nor appreciate the great value of what Jesus could do for them; they did not realize the real loss of rejecting Jesus. What a pity for them.

The same is happening today. Jesus and His good news are often rejected. His message of love, truth, and conversion are not welcomed in many parts of our world. People think they are rejecting an ideology they cannot agree with, without realizing they are actually rejecting the precious gift of true life.

Today’s readings remind us there are dire consequences to rejecting Christ’s message passed on through the church, we are effectively rejecting Christ Himself, the very source of our salvation.

Let us pray that we remain faithful to His teaching, never rejecting any of it, even if we find it hard to accept at first. May we always be found listening to Him and living His Word, truly and sincerely.

Amen.