Dear Friends:
This Sunday’s Gospel presents a poignant scene. Taken from the eighth chapter of John, this account appears nowhere else in the Gospels. It tells of Jesus’ encounter with a woman who was caught in the act of committing adultery, a very grave sin, a sin which, under the Law of Moses, called for death by stoning. In this account, scribes and Pharisees, those who often prided themselves on their strict observance of all that the Law of Moses demanded, bring this woman before Jesus, shaming her publicly, demeaning and depersonalizing her in the process, in order to try to score a point against Jesus. They wanted to trap him so that they could have a reason to bring charges against him, and ultimately, get rid of him.
They reminded Jesus of what the Law of Moses prescribed for anyone caught in the act of adultery, death by stoning. What does Jesus have to say? If he agreed, ordering the woman to be stoned, he would get into trouble with the Roman authorities who would see such a command as an act of sedition, for Rome had reserved all capital punishment to itself. If Jesus did not order the woman to be stoned, he could be charged with violating the strict demands of the Law of Moses.
Masterfully, Jesus says nothing. Instead, he bends down and begins with write with his finger on the ground. Many commentators through the centuries have wondered just what Jesus wrote on the ground. He could merely be doodling, as he thought about a response. He could have written down the sins of the religious leaders who accused the woman. One interesting idea holds that Jesus wrote on the ground, “Where is the man?” for, as we know, it takes two to commit an act of adultery. Whatever he did write, we do not know.
What we do know is that Jesus straightened up and, ignoring their question, threw the gauntlet, as it were, back in their direction. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. And, as John tells it, they all left, one by one, beginning with the elders who accused the woman in the first place. In the end, only the woman and Jesus remained.
Jesus treated the woman, nameless to this day, with great compassion and mercy. He treated her as a person worthy of love and respect. For his part, he would not condemn her. But he does tell her to “Go, and from now on, do not sin anymore.” We can only imagine just how that woman’s life that day was changed forever.
This account in John’s Gospel gives us a two things to ponder. First of all, we should never use others, or the sins and failings of others, as a means of settling scores or getting even or even as a means of exalting ourselves. We should never look down on others as sinners, less than ourselves, or even as less than human because of what they have done. All of us are sinners. All of us are capable, given the right set of circumstances, of committing sin, even very grave sin. What we are called to with regard to others, especially when it comes to their sins and failings, is compassion and mercy.
Secondly, we must avoid the temptation to take sin lightly, or to see it as of no account. Jesus certainly did not do so with the woman. While he did not beat her down, condemn her and berate her for her sin, he did not excuse it lightly, either. He met her where she was and called her forward. He did not condemn her, but readily forgave her, and challenged her to be her better self. The same holds true for us. Sin, in any form, in any degree, is loathsome in the eyes of God and it is not be taken lightly. That being said, no sin is beyond God’s mercy. No one is ever written off by God. All are offered readily and often the mercy and compassion of God. All we need do is to acknowledge our sins and accept God’s mercy and forgiveness, and get up and move forward. “Go, and from now on, do not sin anymore.”
Have a good week!