Gospel of John, chapter 8:6

When the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus, and asked Him to pronounce judgment on her according to the Mosaic Law, He ignored them by writing on the ground with His finger. He knew the wickedness of their hearts; that they wanted to trap Him into opposing the Mosaic Law which stated that such women be stoned to death. When the Pharisees persisted in their questioning, Jesus said:
“Let the one without sin cast the first stone at her.”
Then, He bent over again for a second time, and wrote on the ground (John 8:8).

Jesus’ challenge struck at the heart of the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. They responded the way cowards respond: “they all left, one by one, beginning with the elders (John 8:9).”

Whenever people bad-mouth you or put you down, you should ignore them the way Jesus ignored His accusers. It is not possible to please everyone; it is natural to face opposition and even persecution by those who are jealous of you; or who feel threatened by you in some way. It goes with the territory. The important thing is to be true to your conscience; and to live a good, Christian life. As the saying goes: “do good and forget about it; do wrong and worry about it.”

It is a grave mistake to waste your precious energy worrying over what people think or say about you. It is not worth the effort for it only distracts from your life’s goal: to do God’s will.

Worrying over what other people say or think or do can drive people out of their minds. I recall meeting a woman after mass one day, and she asked me why I didn’t like her. I told her she was badly mistaken. Then she asked me why I hit her on the forehead the previous Wednesday and refused her communion? I explained that I put ashes on her forehead, and that she must have forgotten that it was Ash Wednesday. She did forget it was Ash Wednesday and apologized for the misunderstanding. I was glad she told me this for it lifted an unnecessary burden from her mind.

This story may appear unusual, but it illustrates how we can be distracted by something that only exists in our minds, but has no existence in reality. So, stop worrying about what others think or say about you.

You have only one judge to be accountable to, and that is Jesus. Try to please Him, and ignore whatever else interferes with that.

If Jesus ignored His detractors, why shouldn’t you?

Fr. Hugh Duffy

* * * Do not miss tomorrow’s blog on Peace * * *