3rd Passiontide
John 8: 1-12
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| Breughel |
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives; but as soon
as day dawned he was already in the Temple court, where the people flocked to
him, and he sat down and began to teach them. The teachers of the law and the
Pharisees led in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle,
and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In
the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They said this only as a trap, in order finally to have a reason for accusing
him.
But Jesus bent down, and started to write something
in the earth with his finger. When they kept on pressing him with questions, he
stood up and said to them, “Whoever among you is without sin, let him cast the
first stone at her.” And again, he bent down and wrote in the earth.
When they heard this, their conscience began to
stir within them, and they went out, one after the other, beginning with the
eldest. And only Jesus was left and the woman who stood in the middle. Jesus
stood up, and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one passed judgment
on you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I judge you,” Jesus declared. “Go
now, and leave your life of sin.”
3rd
Passiontide
John 8: 1-12
There are illnesses that show outwardly—the cough, the rash.
And there are those that grow silently, malignantly within.
The Hebraic lawyers fixed their attention on other people’s
outer behaviors. Extreme measures were taken to eliminate those who could not
control themselves in accordance with the Law.
But Christ brings with Him another law. It is the law of a warm
light, which shines not only on outer deeds, but also into the secret recesses
of the human heart. He asks us all to shine His light of merciful discernment
not only on others, but also within. For we all have two beings within our
breast. One is critical and judgmental; it wants to dominate others. The other
is soft and loving, but perhaps too weakly passive.
Christ’s loving heart gives us a third way. He gives us a
healthy Self that condemns neither itself nor others. At the same time, this
healthy Self has the strength to assert itself against the main causes that
separate us from Him, namely fear and illusion. With the light of His love, we
can find both strength and loving kindness.
For as the poet says:
Before you know what kindness
really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a
moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
….Before you know kindness as the
deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other
deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
….Then it is only kindness that
makes sense anymore,
….only kindness that raises its
head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.[1]
