Meditations for Lent - # 32 – 5th Sunday in Lent
The suggested Gospel reading for today is a famous passage from John 8:1-11 which contains the story of the scribes and the Pharisees seeking again to test Jesus. Jesus is in the temple when they bring a woman to him who was caught, we are told, in the very act of adultery. I suspect that the scribes and the Pharisees think that they have a clear case. If Jesus does not follow the law of Moses and orders her stoned to death they will have publicly confirmed that he is soft on crime and is not concerned with the laws. They already suspect that is the case and seek to “out him” as the unrealistic, soft hearted liberal that he is. Jesus does not disappoint them but responds in a way which puts them in a position of lying and sinning or taking a more compassionate view of the woman. Jesus simply tells them that it is fine for the one among them without sin to throw the first stone. No one throws a stone. He simply tells the woman to go and sin no more.
The reader of this story has no idea with whom or why this woman was having a sexual relationship. It was someone other than her husband. Was she in an arranged marriage but in love with someone else? Did her husband beat her and she looked for comfort with another man? Was she forced into a sexual relationship with the other man? Did she and the other man just experience a very human moment and “find themselves” impulsively acting on a moment of passion? Was she earning a little extra money? Was she being blackmailed? The reader is not given a hint of the reason for her behavior. It is doubtful that either the scribes or the Pharisees knew why she was engaging in an adulterous relationship. Jesus does not seem to care why she did it. Time and time again, Jesus appears to not be shocked that us humans are far from perfect. He seems he would not have made a good prosecutor, politician, business person or judge. He did not seem to be big on punishment as a deterrent to crime. He would not have supported the three strikes laws. I suspect he would not have been a supporter of the policy of incarcerating people for long periods of time in the United States; a system which has a very high recidivism rate. I suspect he would be a bit better at diagnosing the problem which led to the criminal act. He might even have been a leader in using science to change various laws. He might have said that such and such law no longer makes sense given the scientific knowledge now available. He was also “soft” in other ways. He seemed to see people as more than a particular behavior. He might have suggested that those who are incapable of considering the needs of others need to be treated with love and respect even if they need to be restrained in some manner. He would laud those business people who are determined to give many a second or even 5th chance. He might have seen addiction as a chronic illness. He might have suggested that all those politicians who ignore the health care needs of the average citizen but give themselves a gold standard health care plan for life apply the test of fairness.
Many of us are good at throwing stones at others. Some of us are good at throwing stones at ourselves. One of the challenges of this Jesus fellow is to look at who we are; to focus on taking the log out of our own eye (with compassion); to see each of us as very bright, compassionate, loving, impulsive, fragile, strong, weak, fallible humans being who are yet sacred and worth a second or third or tenth chance. Here we are reading and then praying about today’s lesson while struggling to hold on to our right to throw the first stone. God laughs – with love.
Written April 8, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
The suggested Gospel reading for today is a famous passage from John 8:1-11 which contains the story of the scribes and the Pharisees seeking again to test Jesus. Jesus is in the temple when they bring a woman to him who was caught, we are told, in the very act of adultery. I suspect that the scribes and the Pharisees think that they have a clear case. If Jesus does not follow the law of Moses and orders her stoned to death they will have publicly confirmed that he is soft on crime and is not concerned with the laws. They already suspect that is the case and seek to “out him” as the unrealistic, soft hearted liberal that he is. Jesus does not disappoint them but responds in a way which puts them in a position of lying and sinning or taking a more compassionate view of the woman. Jesus simply tells them that it is fine for the one among them without sin to throw the first stone. No one throws a stone. He simply tells the woman to go and sin no more.
The reader of this story has no idea with whom or why this woman was having a sexual relationship. It was someone other than her husband. Was she in an arranged marriage but in love with someone else? Did her husband beat her and she looked for comfort with another man? Was she forced into a sexual relationship with the other man? Did she and the other man just experience a very human moment and “find themselves” impulsively acting on a moment of passion? Was she earning a little extra money? Was she being blackmailed? The reader is not given a hint of the reason for her behavior. It is doubtful that either the scribes or the Pharisees knew why she was engaging in an adulterous relationship. Jesus does not seem to care why she did it. Time and time again, Jesus appears to not be shocked that us humans are far from perfect. He seems he would not have made a good prosecutor, politician, business person or judge. He did not seem to be big on punishment as a deterrent to crime. He would not have supported the three strikes laws. I suspect he would not have been a supporter of the policy of incarcerating people for long periods of time in the United States; a system which has a very high recidivism rate. I suspect he would be a bit better at diagnosing the problem which led to the criminal act. He might even have been a leader in using science to change various laws. He might have said that such and such law no longer makes sense given the scientific knowledge now available. He was also “soft” in other ways. He seemed to see people as more than a particular behavior. He might have suggested that those who are incapable of considering the needs of others need to be treated with love and respect even if they need to be restrained in some manner. He would laud those business people who are determined to give many a second or even 5th chance. He might have seen addiction as a chronic illness. He might have suggested that all those politicians who ignore the health care needs of the average citizen but give themselves a gold standard health care plan for life apply the test of fairness.
Many of us are good at throwing stones at others. Some of us are good at throwing stones at ourselves. One of the challenges of this Jesus fellow is to look at who we are; to focus on taking the log out of our own eye (with compassion); to see each of us as very bright, compassionate, loving, impulsive, fragile, strong, weak, fallible humans being who are yet sacred and worth a second or third or tenth chance. Here we are reading and then praying about today’s lesson while struggling to hold on to our right to throw the first stone. God laughs – with love.
Written April 8, 2019
Jimmy F Pickett
Coachpickett.org
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