…while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach them. 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. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
John 8:1-11 (NRSVUE)
Friends, it is so good to be back with all of you, and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped out with the service last week while I was on vacation. It is amazing what a gathered community can do when they work together, isn’t it? And it becomes even more sacred and special when we trust our community enough to be our honest selves and to share a piece of our story with them. So, thank you to everyone who shared a piece of themselves in worship last week.
Well, as I was preparing for today’s message, I thought about the people and the gathered community that we heard about in today’s scripture lesson. Of course, there was Jesus. There were the scribes and the Pharisees who were testing Jesus. There was the gathered community who were looking to learn from Jesus, and there was the woman.
Now, we could take that list of characters and tell a very different story. What if the community had gathered to work together, perhaps to worship like you all did last week? What if they too reflected on the 23rd Psalm, sharing stories of hope and forgiveness? Stories of difficult journeys and the assurance that we are never alone. Stories that tell of people facing their darkest hours and how their faith brought them through. Reminding them that not only does God love them just the way they are and that they are never alone, but that as the Psalm states, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow them all the days of their lives.” That sounds like it would be a nice story, doesn’t it? But, unfortunately, in today’s actual story, instead of loving and forgiving and giving hope in all circumstances, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the crowd gathered in judgment. Not worshiping and praising God, But pointing fingers and laying blame.
Now, to be honest, the scribes and the Pharisees were not concerned about the woman in the least; they were trying to test Jesus. They were putting him on the spot. You see, if he absolved or forgave the woman caught in adultery, it would be said that he went against the laws of Moses; but if he condemned her, it would be said that he was inconsistent with his message of unconditional love and mercy towards sinners.
Friends, as we all know, living by the laws of society and living lives of faith can sometimes be countercultural. From the 23rd Psalm, our faith teaches us that “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.” while society teaches us that “Surely our mistakes and the things we have done wrong, shall follow us all the days of our lives.” Jesus was not dismissing the act of adultery as an acceptable behavior, but he was looking beyond the behavior to the real, live, human being standing in front of him. Jesus knew that the law of Moses was handed down to bring order to chaos. But as he looked around at the crowd, he saw how the law of Moses mixed with crowd mentality brought a sense of
judgment and hate rather than peace and mercy. So, he took a deep breath and bent down to draw in the sand.
No one knows what Jesus wrote that day, if he wrote anything. Though many theologians have thoughts and ideas. Many teachers in Jesus’ day would draw in the sand using it like a blackboard, an overhead projector, a whiteboard, or a large computer screen, depending on how old you are. But honestly, I think what happened as Jesus bent down and drew in the sand was a much-needed pause. A breath. A moment of silence in the building judgment and mob mentality of the crowd.
Maybe Jesus was remembering that from dust we have all come and that to dust we will all return, not as perfect individuals but as unique and individual creations. Perhaps Jesus was reflecting on the fact that sins can be forgiven and wiped away like words written in the sand. Whatever it was that Jesus scribbled in the sand that day or thought about in that moment of silence, He then stood up and said a few famous words–words that can either sting or can bring an incredible sense of relief and comfort. “You who are without sin cast the first stone.” Then one by one, the people in the crowd, and even the scribes and the Pharisees dropped their stones and walked away.
Friends, the truth is, it is many times when we think that we are following the rules, when we think that we are staying on the straight and narrow, and when we think that we are doing the right thing that we allow our perfection and our righteousness, to look down on others. Folks, as followers of Jesus, and as human beings, we are called to love, not to judge. We are called to show and share hospitality, inclusion, and healing, not exclusion, judgment, and hate.
Every week, we begin our service here in Oldtown with the words, “Whoever you are, and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are always welcome here.” But do we really mean that? Do we welcome adulterers and people who cheat on their taxes? Yup! How about bullies and liars and people who drive over the speed limit? Yup! When we say, “Whoever you are and wherever you are on life’s journey, you are always welcome here,” we let people know that we are not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.
I can promise you that as long as I’m here standing in this pulpit and serving as your pastor, there will never be a list at the door stating who is in and who is out, who is acceptable and who is not, who is worthy and who is unworthy. It doesn’t matter your gender or your job, your race, your class, where you work or who you love, what you order at Denny’s, or who you voted for in the last election.
Folks, we all have our shortcomings and our growing edges. Oldtown is the place where we hopefully get to work on them, finding not only a welcome, but encouragement and direction, and wholeness and healing. We come to worship not just to be comfortable and to feel good about ourselves but to be changed, to be transformed, to be made new, and to go out into the world forgiven and loved that we might sin no more.
Friends, we all have baggage that we carry with us, things that we have done or left undone, things we have said, or people we have hurt. We are human, and we make mistakes. But as Jesus taught us today, it is never too late for forgiveness. And it’s never too late to let go of the guilt and shame that you carry.
Did you know that in Jewish understanding, a sin is not an offense against God or an act of disobedience? A sin is a missed opportunity to act humanly. Did you hear that? A sin is a missed opportunity to act humanly, a missed opportunity to be a nice human being.
So, brothers and sisters in Christ, as you go out into your busy week ahead, try your best to be a nice human. Know that God does love you just the way you are, and so do I. But sometimes, we love you too much to let you stay that way.
Friends, because we are all human, we make mistakes and poor choices sometimes. And because I want you to know what forgiveness feels like and what healing and wholeness bring, there are a few trays of sand. There is one at the end of each aisle here in the sanctuary, and there are two out back in Maxcy Hall.
After worship, at your leisure, you are invited to find one of the trays of sand and take a minute to quietly say a prayer or have a conversation with God, then write or scribble in the sand a word or a phrase, or a symbol that represents something you need forgiveness from. Then, take a deep breath and wipe it away, knowing that you are forgiven, that you can start fresh and new, or as Jesus says, “Go and act humanly, sin no more, and work to make the world a more peaceful and loving place.”
My friends, may it be so. Thanks be to God’s Amen!
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