By Joseph Inbaraj, CSC –
Readings: Jer 11:18-20; Jn 7: 40-53
The readings of the day invite me to find goodness in each one of us. In the Gospel, the Pharisees were not accepting Jesus as the Messiah saying, “would the Messiah come from Galilee?” In the same way, I have experienced non-acceptance from other people in my life. It was not at all unusual to hear from people who talk with great authority on things which they know very little. Eg: Officers, managers, principals, superiors etc. It is also commonly practiced in our society.
In our relationships, we often tend to find defects in others and criticize them. In the process of fault-finding, our own shortcoming remains hidden making us to feel self-righteous. Instead of criticizing others, it will do a world of good if we care for them. Then we will listen not only to what they are saying but also to what they are trying to say with or without words.
We also see the life of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Mother Teresa, our founders, Saints, some politicians, movie actors etc. who were rejected by many people but made tremendous contributions in the world as well as in our lives.