February 12, 2015

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus…said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” …they went away, one by one…and Jesus was left alone with the woman…” John 8:3ff

“One day a woman was brought to Jesus. The spokesman for the group who brought her said she was caught red-handed and that according to the law she should be stoned to death. To them the woman was not a woman, or even a person, but an adulteress, stripped of her essential dignity and worth. Jesus said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” After that, he implied, any person may throw. The quiet words exploded the situation, and in the piercing glare each man saw himself…In that moment each was not a judge of another’s deeds, but of his own. Jesus met the woman where she was, and he treated her as if she were already where she now willed to be. He placed a crown over her head which for the rest of her life she would keep trying to grow tall enough to wear.” Howard Thurman (1900 – 1981) “For All The Saints”, volume III

It is always easier to point out the sins of another, than to look within and see the sins that exist within us. Our view is clearer, more observant, and often much sharper when assessing the weaknesses of others. But Jesus reminds us that we all carry some secrets, some hidden sins that none of us would care to have aired in public. The ability of Jesus to set the example for us – to see this woman as Thurman suggests, as the person she hoped she might be – is remarkable and, I think, has been under-valued in this text. So Jesus’ refusal to condemn the woman, well, that is what gives us all hope. Jesus says in John 3:17 “The Son did not come into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world should be saved through him.”

Why do we spend so much time condemning and judging others? It is because we all have insecurities – and the best way to feel better about ourselves is to put others down. But, no matter what we do, Jesus is the one to give us all value – as chosen children of G*d through our baptisms, and as beloved children, loved because G*d created us. If we live as if G*d is always judging us, and others, we live life in fear – critical of all we encounter. But, if we live in faith, a gift to us through the Holy Spirit, then we can live into Christ’s love for us, dropping the need to judge others, and living into the crown Christ has set above each one of us.

Pastor Dave