Testing, Testing…
John 7:53-8:11
There is a story in John’s gospel that includes the familiar adage, “let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” That’s not the exact quote, but that’s how it gets used most often, and I think for most of us it seems to be the point of the story. But there are other things going on here that sometimes get lost in the account. “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him” (John 8:3-6a). There is no question that the woman has done what she is accused of. (In fact she never denies it.) But her sin really isn’t that important to the religious leaders. Actually, their intent is not to administer the law of Moses but to force Jesus to either abide by the law or to publically defy it. The whole thing is a trap with Jesus right in the middle of things.

But Jesus turns the situation around, effectively removing himself from the equation and shining a light, first on the leaders, and then on the woman. “Fine,” he said, “kill her. And the first stone should be thrown by any one of you who is not a sinner.” It must have been some scene, as first the elders, and then the scribes and Pharisees began to slink away, one by one and then in larger groups, until no one was left to carry out the punishment. How could they? To presume innocence at this moment would have been utter hypocrisy. At the very least they had just tried to trap Jesus using a technicality of the law as the reason for arresting him. Once they had shuffled off it left only Jesus and the woman, the one who had initially been identified as a sinner and who never denied it. And finally Jesus is able to turn his full attention to her and to offer forgiveness of her sins while admonishing her to sin no more.

The scribes and Pharisees wanted to make Jesus the point of this story, but Jesus did what the gospel does so often, which is to put the focus on us and on our lives. Where do we stand in all of this? Do we want to force Jesus to do things our way? And if so are we willing to cast the first stone? And what about the sins that we have committed? Are we willing to hear Jesus’ words of forgiveness if they are followed by the call to sin no more? There really is a lot to think about in this story, a great deal to consider. Ultimately, however, it is a story of grace. And perhaps that’s what we really need to hold on to.

Prayer: Lord, help us to accept the light of the gospel as it reveals our shortcomings, knowing that it also grants us your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Burning Coals and First Stones

Isaiah 6:1-13

2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

John 7:53-8:11

“To this end,” writes Paul, “we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call…” (2 Thessalonians 1:11). But what does it mean to be “worthy of (God’s) call” and how might that happen? Isaiah and John offer a bit of insight.

When Isaiah encountered the heavenly court there in the temple he immediately recognized his predicament. “Woe is me!” he said. “I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips…yet my eyes have see the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5)! Then a seraph touches his mouth with a live coal from the altar and blots out Isaiah’s sin. He is now worthy to accept God’s call in his life.

In John, a woman is brought to Jesus accused of adultery. The law says she should be stoned to death, but what will Jesus say? Fine, is his response, just let the one without sin be the first to throw a stone. Before long the crowd has departed and Jesus and the woman are left alone. “Go you way,” he tells her, “and from now on do not sin again” (John 8:11). I would suggest that like Isaiah, this woman is now worthy to accept God’s call in her life. She has been forgiven and restored to a life in community.

So what are we to say about these things? For one, God alone is the arbiter of human worth and worthiness. How much we matter or to what extent we are “worthwhile” comes from no other source but God. For another thing, worthiness arrives in strange and unexpected circumstances, like a walk in the temple or in the face of a mob. And finally, this sense of worthiness changes everything. Now I don’t believe that Isaiah or the woman lived the rest of their lives without sin, but I do believe that the reordering of their lives by God removes questions of worthiness from the equation. If God says we are worthy, that settles it, no matter what happens next. And that is good news.

Prayer: Lord, walk with us and guide us in worthiness that we may respond to your call with all our hearts. Amen.