Choosing Those Rejected by the World

"The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone" (Ps. 118:22).  This was pointing to Jesus, the stone, and the builders those who persecuted Him and crucified Him.  What the society deemed useless, unusable, and worthless God deemed useful, usable, and valuable.

God does not seemingly choose the strong and the powerful to carry out his mission.  This is not because God sees them as less worthy or valuable, but because they are not open to receive the message God has for them.  With power and stature we sometimes, often, succumb to pride and forget how to be humble.

Jesus sat with sinners, prostitutes, and those rejected by society.  The Pharisees ridiculed and rebuked Jesus for associating Himself with such people.  Yet, Jesus recognized and acknowledged their dignity - they were made in the likeness and image of God.  Those the people saw as not worthy to be associated with and less than society God chose to be instruments of His message of love and mercy.  Through encounters with the Lord they became disciples and evangelists.  For example, the woman at the well went to the Samaritans and told them all about Jesus, and many of them came to believe.  This woman, who needed to go to the well at noon to draw water so that she would not run into anyone because she was engaging in scandalous behavior, became the instrument by which others came to know Jesus.

Those the world sees as unworthy, God calls and chooses.  We must always return to humility, knowing that we are not worthy, and that God does not call us because we are worthy but because He loves us.  God calls out to you today - can you hear Him?

Let us ask the Father to teach us how to be humble and to stay close to the poor and those rejected by the society, for it is through them that we can encounter the Lord.      

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