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In countless tiny ways we are tempted to control others’ perceptions of us, the way that we are defined or understood by them. But as painful as they may be, experiences of misunderstanding are an opportunity to develop humility. And they happen to everyone. Even Jesus, God made flesh is accused of being an agent of the devil in today’s Gospel. What is his response?
Jesus doesn’t defend his own honour when insulted (though he, more than anyone, would be entitled to do so). He doesn’t respond with anxiety, or self-justification, or a frantic need to be understood. He doesn’t respond out of his human need for approval. He already knows the Father is well pleased. That is enough.
Rather, Jesus responds in self-forgetfulness, out of concern for the ones before him. He responds will gentle, true and unflinching teaching. He points out the dangers in the spirit of division to which they have succumbed and calls them to repentance, for their own sakes.
Our instinct may be to flee from insults and humiliation, but these can be gifts, too, provided we submit to the working of grace. This “slight, momentary affliction” can produce in us “an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.” It is by accepting God’s will, especially in difficult things, that we are made like Christ.