It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity,* but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
“The Woman Caught”
Every time I hear this scripture my alert response goes into overdrive. Yet when I sit with it, I often find new life in these ancient words. Almost always my response is defensive on behalf of the unnamed woman standing alone before Jesus, accusations hurled toward her; Judgments demanded from him.
I think first, ‘hold on guys….how could this be....I mean give me a break, how come only the woman is caught – especially when her action requires two persons to even be considered criminal?’ I put myself in the scene, observing, questioning: Here we have the party of the first part, but where on earth is the party of the second part? Cynical me, or that part of me, lurks just below the surface sometimes when I sit with these texts.
Today, I realized for the first time that the poor girl isn’t even given a name. Just another woman, charged! My sympathy goes out to her. I wonder, what might this scene look like if the roles were reversed? What if the Scribes and Pharisees were women, bringing forth an unknown man, accusing him of a crime requiring two. And then I wondered, is that what I am doing right now? All these questions, circling in my psyche, leading me deeper into the real question Jesus is about to ask, as he sits patiently writing in the dirt. I ponder that too. What is he writing? What is he writing that is meant for me? Is he just passing time or waiting for me to look deeper? Is he aware that the men bringing the charge might really have HIM as the target of their action?
Over the years I have loved imagining things he might have scribbled on the ground in that event: “I have come that you might have life”, or “Do not fear little flock”, or “It is mercy that I desire, not sacrifice”, or “You are precious in my sight, and I love you”, or “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they have done”.
What is he writing? I spend time with that thought, wondering what he might be writing to me. Next I hear, HIS question, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”.
Pondering even the surface level of my own sinful nature, as I sit with this Gospel, I find myself thankful once again, that at least every third year – Year C – WE, the Church, have the opportunity to hear and respond to God’s Great Mercy in John’s Gospel on the 5th Sunday of Lent, taking a deeper dive into our own need for forgiveness.
It seems to me that this very scene in the Gospel of John calls all of us into a greater awareness of God’s Mercy, that while we were still sinners, and while we are still sinners, God pours out his love for us, and as we prepare to celebrate the joy, wonder and mystery of Easter Sunday, still a week away, we are given these weeks of Lent to take that lesson seriously. I love the story. I love that each of the men there, turned - knowing and owning -their own sinful nature. And, one by one – left their sin and their stone behind.
And, I love that Jesus scribbled throughout, until he stood to speak to the woman. May we hear God’s mercy anew, in these closing words of today’s Gospel:
“So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, "No one sir.” Then Jesus said,
“Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
De Colores - Patty
Link to Music Meditation “Come Healing” by Leonard Cohen
(cover by Forest Grove Ensemble)