Restoring Hope: Overcoming Rejection and Embracing Divine Healing

4th Sunday of Matthew
Scripture: Matthew 8:5-13

Hope is a good thing as it represents our dreams and ambitions. However, sometimes our hopes are shattered when we reach out to someone we look up to, hoping they can help us with our dreams, only to be rejected.

After Elijah killed the priests of Baal, he also experienced rejection. When Queen Jezebel sent word that she intended to kill him, Elijah didn’t feel protected by God, so he fled into the desert. Scripture mentions that he sat under a tree and “fell asleep,” which I interpret as him being so distraught that he died.

If we give in when our hopes are shattered, like Elijah, we may wither away into nothingness.

In a similar vein, a centurion approaches Jesus today and asks him to heal his servant. However, because Jews are not allowed to enter a Gentile’s house, Jesus, to demonstrate what sort of faith is required of us, initially rejects him with a sarcastic remark, saying, “Am I to come and heal him?” The centurion could have given up, but he didn’t. Instead, he demonstrates his loyalty to the God of Israel by insisting that Jesus heal the servant with a mere “word.”

If we also display such loyalty to Christ, even in the face of rejection, Christ is there to touch us with his healing power. He is there to resurrect our hope, just as he raised Elijah from his state of despair.

Having our dreams restored by Christ gives us the confidence to keep dreaming and to “see” Christ as Elijah saw God when his hope was restored.

As Christians with hope, we become icons of trust for those around us who feel rejected and in despair. Through us, they can witness that trust in Christ is what gives people hope to keep their dreams alive.