While this Gospel reading really tells me the consequences of rejecting God over the period of my life, it also tells me something else. Every small rejection while I pretend to look like I am doing his work, or say I am doing his work also hurts him, and hurts our soul. We need to be open in accepting his Word as our salvation, but also cautious in rejecting it like the Pharisees. They are set up as the hypocrites that we should not follow, but we can also be that way some of the time. I pray I try and avoid these occasions and remind myself of the prize of His love.