‘The one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.’
Jesus was distressed when he encountered those who would - or could - not accept the good news, that the long promised, much prophesied kingdom of God was here, brought by his life, suffering, death and resurrection. The early christians too, lamented those who could not accept Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.
Many - to be honest, most - of our fellow Cheltonians have no idea about the good news - or at least, only a peripheral knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, and little or no desire to encounter Him. This should sadden us greatly - it should bring us to tears.
Not every weekday mass is as negative as today's liturgy - but we do need to remember the consequences of not recognising Jesus as Lord.
We also need to recognise our responsibility to represent Him faithfully to those among whom we live - we should be joyful, as we need to remember that Jesus overturned all this in his resurrection!