Mayor of Misfit Island

Learning to love the marginalized like Jesus

9/05/2021

Mk 7:31-37 Again Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” — And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Growing up I was one of the weird kids, that is, I was not one of the cool kids. I never felt like I fit in with my peers. For instance, I was an immigrant from India and my parents talked with a funny accent. I was dark-skinned while most all my classmates were Caucasian (white kids). I enjoyed playing sports, of course, but I would never be good enough for varsity level sports.

My family was not rich, and so we reused everything. We even washed and reused saran wrap. We were "going green" because we had no green (no money). Our family vacations were always to visit our relatives in New York, not to fun, exciting places like Disney World or Six Flags, where cool kids vacationed.

But there was one big benefit of growing up with this misfit mentality, namely, it gave me a heart for other kids who were also misfits. In other words, I would seek out those students who were socially awkward, those who were poor, the ones everyone else labelled as the geeks and the nerds, and they became my friends.

Did you ever see the movie, “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys”? In the movie, Rudolph saves misfit toys from an island of isolation and despair, and I felt a little like Rudolph by befriending my misfit classmates. My goal in life was to be the mayor of misfit island! And look, I did it: I am the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church! Those that the world thought were the weirdos were, in my opinion, the coolest kids of all. Why? Because they were my best friends.

In the gospel today, Jesus also manifests this “misfit mentality” by showing how much he loves those who were unloved by the world. That is, Jesus has a special place in his Sacred Heart for the geeks and the nerds of the world. In Mk 7, Jesus travels outside the Holy Land, into a region called the Decapolis, which means, “Ten Cities.” And what happens? We read: “And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him.” And we know how Jesus heals him.

It is hard for us to imagine what a surprise and scandal Jesus caused with his ministry to the misfits outside of Israel. That would be the social equivalent today of Jesus healing a sick man who belonged to the Taliban, or to the BoKo Haram terrorist group. That is what it felt like to the Jews who were convinced they were the cool kids and everyone else belonged on the island of misfit toys.

But Jesus had come to offer the gift of salvation to everyone without exception: to the cool kids as well as the nerds, to the sports stars but also the water-boy, to the prince yet also the pauper, to the beauty queens as well as the ones who never get noticed. In other words, Jesus thought the wierdos of the world were the coolest kids of all. Why? Because he sought them out and made them his best friends. And therefore, Jesus is the real Mayor of Misfit Island, which, I suspect, will turn out to be a better name for Heaven.

My friends, we all have a deep desire to fit in and be part of the cool kids. And often that desire is a good thing because it helps us to work hard and achieve our fullest potential. But be careful when that desire causes you to cover up or ignore your “misfit” – your social awkwardness, your family of origin, your personal struggles, your most brilliant failures, your physical, mental or emotional defects. Why? Well, all these awkwardnesses are exactly the things that attract the attention of Jesus. When we feel like misfits in the world, we fit perfectly with Jesus.

I am convinced that no one understands the misfit mentality of Jesus better than Pope Francis. Whatever else you may think about him, positive or negative, you have to admire his love for the marginalized. The marginalized is just his fancy way of saying misfits. Here is what he told newly consecrated cardinals in 2015. He said: “I urge you to serve Jesus crucified in every person who is marginalized, for whatever reason: to see Jesus in every excluded person who is hungry, thirsty, naked.”

He went on: “To see the Lord even in those who have lost their faith, or have turned away from the practice of their faith, or say that they are atheists; to see the Lord who is imprisoned, sick, unemployed, persecuted; to see the Lord in the leper – whether in body or soul – who encounters discrimination.” In other words, the pope wants the cardinals to love the weirdos of the world, and make the misfits their best friends. Why? Because that is exactly what Jesus did. If we don’t feel like we belong on the island of misfit toys, we may find we do not belong in heaven.

There are many mysteries in the Catholic faith, but perhaps the most mysterious mystery of all is Jesus’ love for the misfit and the marginalized. That is a love we are all invited to imitate. And that mystery of love is good news for a misfit like me, and maybe like you.

Praised be Jesus Christ!