Jesus was most concerned about people who were rejected. In His time, the marginalised were the lepers, the orphans, the widows and others who did not fit the norms of society. Tax collectors were much hated and branded "sinners" and scorned by their Jewish community. But Jesus stood up to those who excluded them! Jesus welcomed the marginalised. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus confronts rejection squarely. Ironically, it was the people He was sent to bring the Good News to who rejected Him, just as they had rejected the prophets before Him. In the end, Jesus was "unsuccessful" - He was killed by these people. But Jesus was most "fruitful!" Death on the cross was not the last word. Resurrection and glory have the last word. You and I, followers of Jesus, are the fruitfulness of Jesus' mission.

One of the challenges of the Church today is that it's behaving more as a human organisation - concerned more with "doing things right" than doing "the right thing;" more concerned with talking and preaching about the marginalised than doing one's part in helping the marginalised right before us! We talk about "walking alongside the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalised," but we walk past beggars trying to beg for money by selling tissue paper. That's the kind of rejection Jesus was pointing out in today's Gospel reading.