When Private Sins Become Public Issues
 
Wednesday April 29, 2009

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They 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. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
 9At 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. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
 11No one, sir,” she said.
      “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:1-11)

the focus
3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

Reflection
We don’t know much about the woman.  She doesn’t say much.  Perhaps she is terrified.  All we know is that she was caught in the act of adultery and she is presented here before Jesus.  She is fully aware of the fact she could be stoned to death for her sin right now. Did she know that moments before, in her lover’s arms?  Did she think about the consequences?  Did she get caught in a moment of passion? We don’t know.  What we do know is that her private sin became a public spectacle.  Everyone now knows of it.  The woman stands with hostile men holding stones, perhaps waiting for Jesus to agree with them so that they can begin throwing stones at her.  She is soon to be another victim of the law.  Little does she know, the man called Jesus would stand as her advocate, and coming to Jesus, though involuntarily, was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Jesus forgives sin. No matter how we blow it, if we sincerely and willingly come to Him.  He is not there like the other people ready to accuse and to crush.  That burden of sin is not ours to take.  Jesus paid for it. 

Jesus, we live in a world with quite a number of different personalities.  Some are like these men who accuse and who want people to know how sinful they are and to want sinful people to die.  Then, there are the people who just don’t care. They say, it is your business, we can do whatever we want as long as we don’t hurt anyone.  Jesus, You care about our sin. You care about it so much that You died for our sin.  Sin is that serious.  Forgiveness of sin is found only in You, and that forgiveness is so liberating.  Sometimes we forget how serious sin is, sometimes we forget how necessary it is for us to deal with sin.  Teach us to take sin seriously, but to take it seriously in the right way.