The Joy of Rejection

“Jesus said to them,

‘Did you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?’”

Matthew 21:42

Are you thinking that the title of this reflection is paradoxical? Can rejection really be joyful? Rejection is never easy and it usually brings with it anxiety and negatively-charged emotions. Perhaps rejection brings a sense of worthlessness and it makes us question our value and even our dignity. The line from Psalm 118 that Jesus quotes, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” challenges us to see rejection in a whole new way, even finding the joy that comes from it.

The entire earthly life of Jesus has been a contradiction to the Jewish people, challenging them to see the Law, which binds them with God, in a radically different way — not how it has been adapted, but how it was intended to be in accord with the nature of God. One of the biggest challenges for the Jews was to love and pray for their enemies. Another was the Beatitudes. For the Jews in the time of Jesus, someone was truly blessed if they had land and descendants and when things were going well. But Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and those who are persecuted! Instead of clinging to the Law Himself (Jesus), the Jews chose to attach themselves to the law that they have come to adapt to be their own, so when Jesus came to them, they rejected Him because what He preached was seemingly against the law. Jesus is the stone that was rejected by the builders. But, the next part of the verse says it all: He became the cornerstone.

This pattern of the Jewish people was not new at the time of Jesus. In fact, from the times of the prophets, the Israelites have rejected the prophets when they implored them to convert and change their ways. They even plotted to kill them. Just as they treated the prophets, they too treated Jesus. But we know Jesus’s death was not the end. He rose from the dead. His rejection by the people ended not in death, but in life, life that is eternal. So yes there is a joy that comes with rejection — we know that the battle has already been won and that whatever rejection we experience here, especially if for the sake of our faith, is a witness to Christ and His love. As Christians, when we are rejected, it is not because we are not good enough, but because we have been chosen for something else; we have been chosen for heaven.

The next time we experience rejection, whether it be in small ways or larger ways, let us bring it to prayer and join it with the rejection Christ experienced and pray what the Lord quoted, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” confident that the Lord has much bigger plans and that these setbacks are really stones that are building up the Kingdom. May we come to experience the joy that comes with rejection, uniting ourselves to Christ, and seeing the beauty of God’s plan come to fruition.