Isaiah 43:16-21
Ps 125 (6)
John 8:1-11
As we get closer to Holy Week the liturgy builds in intensity. We have journeyed with Jesus from desert to mountain top and we have heard his invitation to turn our hearts to God, to bear fruit for his Kingdom. And now the Church puts before us a story that invites us to examine our own hearts and minds.
This is perhaps one of the most tender encounters in all of the Gospels. We picture the uncomfortable scene of a woman brought by the Pharisees to Jesus. In the eyes of the crowd she is in disgrace. But Jesus diffuses a situation, shifting the focus away from the woman and writing in the dust. With this simple action he makes space for the woman. He makes a frightening situation safe for her. We will never know what he wrote. And this, for me, makes the encounter all the more tender.
I like to think that for the woman this encounter was life-changing. Not only for the compassion that she was shown, but also because Jesus saw her and made space for her. I wonder could the woman make the words of today’s Psalm (125) her own: ‘What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad.’ Would she see herself as going out ‘full of tears’ and coming back ‘full of song’? I hope so.
Jesus stands before the woman as an embodiment of the marvels that God can work. As I reflect on the story I find myself wondering where I stand. Do I stand with the crowd? Do I stand with Jesus? Do I stand with the woman? Do I stand with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees?
Although I’d like to imagine myself always standing with Jesus and the woman, I need to acknowledge those times when judgment looms large for me. Lent gives us the chance to look again at our assumptions and judgments.
How can you make a safe space for another?