Overall Takeway

When Jesus, the Good Shepherd, calls us to be His sheep, He’s calling us to be docile. This often means listening to Him through others, being humble, and being open to others’ concerns, and even criticisms, about us.

Verses

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart,

and they asked Peter and the other apostles,

“What are we to do, my brothers?”

Peter said to them,

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you,

in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins;

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,

this is a grace before God.

For to this you have been called,

because Christ also suffered for you,

The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice,

as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

I am the gate for the sheep.

All who came before me are thieves and robbers,

but the sheep did not listen to them.

I am the gate.

Catholicism Meets Psychology

It’s human to want to defend ourselves and our ideas when someone comes to us with concerns or criticism. Our natural inclination is to defend and argue to get our point across.

Christ reminds us of the importance of relationship: He knows His sheep by name. We need to focus on loving the other person and that relationship instead of winning the argument, even through a difficult conversation and criticism.

If we are defensive and argumentative, we tend to damage the relationship with God, one another, and even ourselves. This often leads to suffering, isolation, and disconnection.

Instead, we should be open to being influenced, work on being docile, and listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd through the conflict.

Remember that God’s Providence works through all people and situations. Even if there’s no truth in what the other person is saying, God has something for you to learn or take away from that experience. If we can be open to that, we maintain connection with Christ and may be able to understand something deeper in the relationship itself as well.

Action Item

When someone criticizes you this week: stop, drop and listen. First, stop your natural immediate reaction to get defensive. Second, drop your objection and simply try to see what the other person is giving you. Finally, listen, by trying to understand that person’s experience is, focusing on the relationship. God may be opening a door for deeper understanding and relationship.