Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Our Church Services to day are at the usual times of 9.15 am at St Agnes' and 11 am at St Thomas'. If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find material below to worship from home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Just as I am, Without One Plea"
Today's Gospel
John 8:1-11 The Adulterous Woman
….. but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 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. 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.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
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. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Reflection
In our modern day and age how big a deal does society think adultery is? What are your thoughts? Of course it is morally wrong and can be deeply hurtful and to a loving partner, sometimes leading to unrecoverable damage to relationships and families.
But in Jesus’ time it was a much greater deal, right up there with idolatry and murder; it was a capital crime punishable by death. So this was a big deal.
John tells us that this was a trap set for Jesus by the Pharisees. They knew that he was a friend of sinners and associated himself with those on the margins rather than the well-to-do and privileged. He proclaimed a message of forgiveness, but if he declared that the woman should be set free then the pharisees would challenge that he was breaking the law of Moses. They would undermine Him and humiliate Him.
Whilst we know little about the woman, her background, age, previous relationships or indeed if she is married; all we are told is that she was ‘caught in the act of adultery’.
For many scholars, there is a view that because the whole thing was an intentional set up, the woman is as much a victim as a sinner. One key question people often ask is, what about the man in all of this? Was He not as guilty? Some would argue that he is more so, as he would have been expected, as a man, to have more spiritual accountability and leadership in God’s eyes. Perhaps he had been set free as a collaborator in the plot. But he too should have been brought for punishment? According to the law: ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbour—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. [Leviticus 20:10].
The answer is, we do not know? however it increases the speculation that all of this was an elaborate set up.
That said, the woman does not deny her sins. Neither does she attempt to justify her sins by making excuses saying that there are extenuating circumstances; perhaps a bad upbringing or that she has been abused by her husband, maybe he also had affairs. She just accepts that she has sinned and despite her embarrassment, it seem she is willing to accept the judgement of her accusers.
But what about the Pharisees? Jesus could clearly see through their plan and evil intent to malign His reputation. Moreover, they were willing to publicly humiliate the woman and have her executed to achieve their malicious agenda. They did not care at all for the woman.
Who was the greater sinner? The adulterous woman, or the Pharisees who were eager to point the finger at others, knowing they too were guilty of sin. For some, it is easier to highlight the wrongdoings of others than to look in the mirror and examine our own shortcomings and failings.
It is easier to expose and condemn others than to expose our own weaknesses. To say, perhaps we have done bad things, but others have done worse. Does that make our sins any less in the eyes of God? Does pointing the finger in any excuse reduce the impact of our sin in God’s eyes? No.
There are times when I read a bible passage and just itch to know more and this is one of them. John says, “Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.” He then stands up and after saying, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone”. He writes more and then they all leave. Wouldn’t you just love to know what Jesus was writing? Maybe he was writing a list of the sins of the accusers, or writing down the Ten Commandments or other laws from the Old Testament. Unfortunately, we don’t know, but it is clear that it struck ‘close to home’ with the religious leaders. John also mentions that the older ones were the first to leave – this might leave us to conclude that they had biggest burden of sin.
We are then left in that intimate moment where Jesus is alone with adulterous woman and we see Jesus doing what He does best. He treats her with compassion and dignity. He knows that she is aware of her wrongdoing and is sorry for what she has done. So Jesus shows His grace and forgiveness. Unlike the pharisees, who only had the power to condemn the woman, Jesus has the power to give her hope and set her on a new path. To wipe the slate clean and give her new direction and purpose by putting her sin behind her. To become a new person.
We too have the opportunity to put our sins behind us and become new people with a better outlook on life. To do that, we must first take the time to reflect on our lives and what where we have sinned. We have to be honest and admit our wrongs and bring them to Jesus in prayer. Because through God’s grace we can have a wonderful future if we come to Christ and trust him as our Lord and Savior: For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. [John 3:17].
Paul
Our Prayers
Most merciful Father,
We pray for honesty and integrity,
to examine our lives and hold before you where we have gone astray.
That by your loving grace, You will lead us to foot of Jesus
Who has the power to forgive, and renew us
And lead us to better life.
AMEN
Today's final hymn is "At The Name Of Jesus"
Notices
Next week is Palm Sunday, so please see the poster below for details of all our Church Services during Holy Week and Easter.
