Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: John 8: 1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
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.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.”
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The slap heard around the world.

I’m sure many of us saw a replay this week of what happened when Will Smith confronted Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars. 

It was a humiliating moment for each of them in different ways. 

Perhaps Will Smith described the incident best when, 45 minutes later, he returned to the stage to receive the award for Best Actor, his very first – and perhaps his last – Oscar.

In his speech, he said tearfully, “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.”

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Smith is right – the devil can strike us at our highest high … or at lowest low. 

That’s what the devil does – he pits us against each other; he divides and humiliates us; he leads us to make decisions we later regret.

Can I think of a time when I also found that to be true?

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We see the same divisive dynamics unfolding in today’s Gospel: deceit, humiliation, and regret. People pitted against each other.

A woman is caught in the act of adultery and dragged before Jesus, surrounded by seething men bearing stones. They’re eager to put her to death, but they want to pressure Jesus into making the call.

It’s a harrowing scene. 

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Instead of entering into an unwinnable debate, Jesus simply bends down and begins to write on the ground with his finger.

What’s he writing?

Some scholars suggest Jesus was buying time; he’s doodling in the dust to collect his thoughts. Most say he was writing an account of the scribes and Pharisees’ own sins. 

Jesus uses this woman’s humiliating situation as a mirror, reminding the scribes and Pharisees that they, too, are guilty of sin. They, too, are in need of God’s forgiveness.

But instead of taking the opportunity to repent, they close their eyes in frustration, drop their stones, and wander off, plotting another scheme to trap Jesus, with the ultimate goal of putting him to death.

As we celebrate Palm Sunday next week, we will see their evil plans come to fruition.

So, the devil continues to wreak havoc in their hearts, pitting the scribes and Pharisees against their neighbors and even against God himself.

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How many of us are left wondering, “What happened to this woman’s partner? Where was he when all of this was happening? Why didn’t the scribes and Pharisees drag him into the temple area, too?” He was just as guilty.

Meanwhile, the compassion of Christ is revealed. “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? … Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

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Over the years, popular culture has embraced a phrase from today’s Gospel – “Let the one without sin cast the first stone.” 

And, by extension, “Only God can judge me.”

While these are both true, we must take those lines with a grain of salt, considering the entire context.

Yes, this woman is forgiven. But Christ also says to her: 

“Go, and sin no more.” Meaning, don’t go back to where you were; don’t continue the conversation with that man; don’t make another decision you’ll later regret.

Keep the devil at bay.

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Like this woman, in what ways is the Lord extending his forgiveness, while also calling me to reform my life? 

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The devil can strike at our highest high … at our lowest low… or really any day in between. Sadly, many saw this truth unfolding on live television.

But when the devil rears his ugly head, we turn to Jesus, who says, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”

With God’s grace, all things are possible.

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Image credits: (1) NPR (2) The Ministry of Jesus (3) blog.peacebewithu.com

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Gospel: John 5: 17-30

Jesus answered the Jews:
“My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.”
For this reason they tried all the more to kill him,
because he not only broke the sabbath
but he also called God his own father, making himself equal to God.

Jesus answered and said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own,
but only what he sees the Father doing;
for what he does, the Son will do also.
For the Father loves the Son
and shows him everything that he himself does,
and he will show him greater works than these,
so that you may be amazed.
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life,
so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes.
Nor does the Father judge anyone,
but he has given all judgment to the Son,
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.
Whoever does not honor the Son
does not honor the Father who sent him.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word
and believes in the one who sent me
has eternal life and will not come to condemnation,
but has passed from death to life.
Amen, amen, I say to you, the hour is coming and is now here
when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,
and those who hear will live.
For just as the Father has life in himself,
so also he gave to the Son the possession of life in himself.
And he gave him power to exercise judgment,
because he is the Son of Man.
Do not be amazed at this,
because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs
will hear his voice and will come out,
those who have done good deeds
to the resurrection of life,
but those who have done wicked deeds
to the resurrection of condemnation.

“I cannot do anything on my own;
I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just,
because I do not seek my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Perhaps the most famous love story in literary history is William Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet.

You may remember the famous balcony scene when Juliet gazes down upon Romeo and says, “Romeo, the more I give to you, the more I seem to have.”

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Juliet learned to see the world through Romeo’s eyes.

She dreamt her lover’s dreams and sought to please her lover’s needs, because the happier Romeo was, the happier Juliet became.

The more she gave, the more she had.

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Jesus is describing a similar relationship to his Father in today’s Gospel.

“I do not seek my own will,” he says, “but the will of the one who sent me.” 

The more Jesus does his Father’s will, the happier he becomes.

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The same is true for us.

The more we give ourselves to God, the happier we become.

I wonder, what might it look like for me to give even more of myself to God today?

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Image credits: (1) Hungryfaces (2) AZQuotes (3) QuoteFancy

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Gospel: John 5: 1-16

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
“Do you want to be well?”
The sick man answered him,
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
“It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”
He answered them, “The man who made me well told me,
‘Take up your mat and walk.’“
They asked him,
“Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?”
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
“Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you.”
The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“After this, Jesus found him in the temple area.”

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The Gospel is filled with stories of miraculous healings: lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the lame walk, even the dead are raised.

Often these stories conclude with the miracle itself; a person is healed, then the Gospel moves onto another story.

But today we get a glimpse into what happened afterwards. 

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A man was crippled for 38 years – so crippled all he could do was lay on a mat. I imagine him balled up like an infant, his limbs deformed, his body overcome with arthritis.

Suddenly, Jesus comes along and heals him using simply the power of his speech. Anyone would’ve been overwhelmed by such a gift, but where would you go after?

The Gospel tells, “Jesus found him in the temple area.” Meaning, the first thing this man did with his fresh legs was walk – or maybe run – up to the temple to give thanks to God.

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Gratitude.

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Anyone who’s had a prayer answered – whether it was something minor or something major like the healing of this crippled man – has a reason to give thanks to God.

So, what’s one thing I’m grateful for? Have I given thanks?

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Today is an opportunity to live out this Gospel passage. Go up to the temple – go to the house of the Lord – and, “give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).

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Image credits: (1) MaryAnn Ward, WordPress (2) St. Shenouda Monastery (3) Faithlife Sermons