We Invite Disaster When We Reject Jesus

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟏𝟓, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐓. 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄, 𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐄𝐱𝐨 𝟐:𝟏-𝟏𝟓

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟗:𝟑, 𝟏𝟒, 𝟑𝟎-𝟑𝟏, 𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟒 “𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟏:𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟒

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “𝑵𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉𝒔.” (𝒗.23) 

         If you have been reading the Gospels you will note that this is the first time that Jesus spoke of condemnation. He had done many miracles as He went on His way to bring the people closer to God and His disciples have also performed miracles too, yet He faced rejection in many of the places He went to.

         In fact, the people of Capernaum should have felt blessed since Christ had used this city as their home base or headquarters during the early part of His ministry (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟖:𝟓-𝟏𝟕; 𝟗:𝟏𝐟𝐟). It is often said that where the light shines the brightest, people have the greatest responsibility.

         There will always be certain degrees of judgment with regards the amount of light a person has, and it is a serious thing to know the truth and turn from it. And in all likelihood, many of us who will be reading this Gospel passage for the first time will interpret this as a reflection of the anger of Jesus towards the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida because of the use of the word “woe.”

         Woe is in fact a very strong word that can be interpreted as a curse or as an expression of anger by a person towards a wrong done to him. But the word woe that Jesus used in this Gospel was one that carries with it sorrow and pity for a people who will never have a chance to enter the Kingdom of God.

         This passage also comes as a surprise especially since there is no record of what Jesus did in either of these two cities except for some references implying that Jesus did mighty works there.

         It may also be probable that Chorazin and Bethsaida were simply dragged along with the people of Capernaum who are actually the object of the anger of Jesus and, again, to understand this we must look back at the ministry of Jesus.

         Rejected by the people in his own hometown, Jesus often traveled to Capernaum which was a bustling city but where the people’s customs and traditions are being influenced by the corruption foisted by the presence of a Roman garrison in the area.

         Jesus wanted the people of Capernaum who have sunk to the depths of sinfulness to embrace his message of salvation and deliverance, but the majority of the people remained unresponsive to the Good News that he brings.

        What made Jesus angry was not the rejection he met but the indifference of the people to his message. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were not indifferent but they merely resented Jesus because he exposed their abuses and the contradictions in the way they practiced their faith.

         The people of Capernaum simply disregarded him and this is what really got into the goat of Jesus because to be ignored and disregarded are probably much worse than being criminally persecuted and executed.

         At the end of the day, Jesus denounced the people of Capernaum “𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒖𝒎, 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔? 𝑵𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒐 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒉𝒔.” (𝒗.23) History shows us that Capernaum was destroyed during the Jewish-Roman war in 66-70 A.D. and although it was rebuilt to become a center of Judaism, the city of Capernaum was finally destroyed and occupied by the Arabs in the 7th Century.

         What this Gospel tells us is that we too stand to suffer the same fate as the people of Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida if we will choose to become indifferent and ignore the message of salvation that Christ brings.

         Many of us may be violating some of the resolutions and pledges to turn our lives around that we made before God. We may be running away from invitations to serve in the church. Those who are already in the church, it is possible many of you may be turning down assignments to serve in a ministry or apostolate. Or your attendance in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist may not be as regular as it should be. And many times, we become indifferent because we cannot sacrifice the comforts, the night outs, the life in the fast lane to a committed life that is needed to spread the Gospel here on earth.

         And this is the greatest sin that we as baptized Catholic Christians can ever commit and that is to be indifferent by ignoring the presence of Christ and His Word of Salvation and Deliverance. Not only were the people of Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida indifferent but they were unrepentant as well and Jesus stresses that it would have been better if he brought his message to Tyre and Sidon instead.

         Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida could have been spared the wrath of God had they repented and accepted the Good News and Jesus is showing us that what may happen to the people of these three cities will also happen to us if we will persist in ignoring his call.

          Repentance brings a change of heart and way of life and Jesus is calling us to walk in his way of truth, love and holiness and the question we need to ask ourselves now is are we embracing His Word with genuine faith and obedience? Because the other alternative is unbearable.

         As I have told you in one of my earlier reflections there was a man who kept holding off his decision to become a Christian saying: “𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴.” 𝘜𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘸 “𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴” 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 “𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴.”        

         We should not play with our lives since time is a luxury that we don’t have. It’s either we live in and with God or we don’t. If we choose to be in and with Christ, then eternal salvation is within our reach. If we choose to reject, ignore and disregard Christ, then it is no different from putting a millstone tied around our necks and be thrown to the depths of the sea. What we may not be aware of is that we bring upon ourselves our own condemnation when we reject Christ.

         To be in and with Christ is to move out of our comfort zones. I remember listening to a Catholic evangelist from Chicago when I attended an international charismatic conference in the US who said that renewed Christians must be a people on the move. He said the time for talking is over. We are now in a time that requires action.

         How true indeed and this was explicitly highlighted in the encyclical Lumen Fidei where Pope Francis said that faith is not complete when it remains as a head-knowledge. Faith has to be lived and shared with others for faith to be complete. How true indeed because our failure to bring the Gospel of Christ to others is to reject Christ and thus reject the One who sent Him. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 15, 2025)