Rejection and Renewal
2023년 10월 8일Rejection and Renewal
< Twenty-Seven Sunday of Ordinary Time >
No one likes to be rejected. No one likes to fail. But almost every rejection and failure can lead to a better outcome than we could ever have hoped for or imagined. In one way, I stand before you today because I suffered rejection in 1968. I first felt called to the priesthood when I was in 10th grade. I went to Mass every Sunday and every day during Lent. I loved reading the Bible and listening to the weekly Rosary over the radio. My friends came to me with their problems and I tried to give them comfort, if not solutions pm quoting the Bible. It was my friends who said to me, “Have you ever thought of being a priest?” I was shocked. The thought had never occurred to me. Then I learned about St. Francis of Assisi and thought, “I’d like to be like him.” So in my second year of college at Albany State, I applied to join the Franciscans. I attended their retreats, I had a spiritual director, I took psychological tests. Six month later the vocation minister told me I wasn’t accepted. I was on shock.
I thought of being a priest for more than four years. What was God thinking?So I finished my college degree and joined the Peace Corps, and taught English in Korea at Kyungbuk University. While in Korea I met Father Ben Zweber on 덕적도 island, four hours west of Incheon in the Yellow Sea. I learned about mission, I learned about Maryknoll. I joined, got ordained in 1978 and was sent to share the gospel in Korea. Had I not been rejected 50 years ago, I would not be standing here before you today. “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The leaders of Israel rejected Jesus, and from the blood of the cross Christianity was born. Everyone of us will experience failure and rejection. But if we offer our pain and defeat to the Lord, he will lead us to a better, more wonderful life, than we could ever have hoped for or imagined.