Gospel: John 8: 1-11
It is customary that the sin of adultery involves the actions of two people, and yet in today's Gospel story we have only one person accused of this sin. That only the woman is accused and not the man is a curious detail as well. And that the woman's accusers state she was caught in the very act makes us wonder just what the crowd was doing in a private bedroom in broad daylight. All of this sets the scene for the interaction between Jesus, the crowd of accusers, and the woman herself.
What Jesus writes on the ground will forever remain an unknown in this story. Whatever it was, the writing and Jesus' statement: let he who is without sin cast the first stone - causes everyone to walk away. The crowd's bloodlust has been stymied, and Jesus is now alone with the woman. He does not condemn her, but instead encourages her to live a better life than she has up to now. She has received mercy and the ultimate reprieve. Her life now must be spent showing mercy to others.
Jesus always rejects the recourse to violence and vengeance that is suggested to him by others. He does so here; when asked to cast fire on a Samaritan town; when the disciples want to take up the sword. Instead, Jesus opts for encounter and mercy - mercy that always provides justice for the vulnerable and marginalized. This woman represents all of humanity caught in sin. Jesus has stepped in to save us from our accusers, to spare our life. Now we too must live a life of mercy that spares the life of others.
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