Today's readings are here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012112.cfm
In today's Gospel, Christ's relatives accuse him of being a madman. I imagine their misunderstanding hurt our Lord deeply.
I have never done a study of the personality traits of cult madmen like Charles Manson; but there are, at least, two ways Christ was different than they.
First, cult madmen are deeply egocentric and narcissistic; and in the end, they are only in it for themselves. They manipulate their followers for the glorification of their massive egos. In contrast, Christ was deeply humble and lived his whole life for others; he loved humanity more than himself.
Second, cult madmen lead their followers into depravity and debauchery, which makes their followers worse human beings. In contrast, Christ leads his followers into true love and holiness, which makes them better human beings.
If we believe Christ is not a madman but has the best grip on reality of anyone who has ever lived, then let us love him more deeply by following his teachings. The more we are like him, the more sane we will be, though the world may think we, too, are madmen.
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