Torridge Coastal Mission Community

Reflection from Nigel Price

John 8.1-11

Then they all went home, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (NIV)

Reflection

The readings for the last three Sundays from John's Gospel have all featured women, and agin today the Gospel features a woman. whatever anyone may say, it does demonstrate the important role that women have in proclaiming the gospel - the good news!I have always wondered what Jesus was writing in the sand. Of course, no one knows! And perhaps it is not an important part of the story. The story starts with people wanting to stone a woman and it ends with them wanting to stone Jesus. Something for us to ponder upon. The scribes and Pharisees had set a trap for Jesus - they expect him to forgive the woman, then they can accuse him of teaching people to ignore something in the Law of Moses. One can imagine anger rising in Jesus; they are using the woman as merely a tool in their attack on him. His answer is rather risky - what if one of them had indeed cast the first stone? But no one does. Jesus has side-stepped the trap by not saying that the Law of Moses was wrong, but by suggesting that if we are going to be serious about it, we will find that all of us are guilty. But it doesn't mean that sin does not matter - it matters very much - but God may set it aside when we seek forgiveness. But it does not stop there - Jesus tells the woman to 'sin no more'. Forgiveness comes with a challenge. A challenge set for us all - we are all forgiven by that selfless act of Jesus on the cross, but we must all heed that instruction to 'sin no more'.

Let us pray:

Gracious Father, you gave up your Son out of love for the world: lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion, that we may know eternal peace through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Common Worship: Collects and Post Communions, material from which is included here, is copyright ? The Archbishops' Council 2000

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