25th February - Canon Stephen Carter

ASH WEDNESDAY 2009

John 8:4

“The Pharisees brought in a woman caught committing adultery”

On Film on 4 recently, there was a film called “Solomon and Gaynor”. Set in the  Rhondda valley, around the time of the First World War, it’s the story of the love affair of a Jewish boy and a Welsh girl. You have to follow the subtitles, because most of the script is in the unlikely combination of Welsh and Yiddish.

One of the most memorable moments in the film is when it is discovered that Gaynor is pregnant with Solomon’s child. Gaynor is hauled out to the front of the Chapel, and publicly denounced and humiliated by the preacher. She is banished from the chapel for her crime. What is so sad, of course, is that at the very moment she most needs the support and understanding of her family and her church, she is cut off from them, to fend for herself. 

It is hard to believe that a Christian community that would have been familiar with today’s Gospel, would have been so blind to its meaning. Which I suppose just goes to show how all us can be very selective about those parts of Scripture that we take to heart.

What is striking about today’s Gospel is that it is so relevant to every age and culture: for it exposes the worst potential of religious people to self righteousness and hypocrisy. Perhaps this is why the early Church had problems with this passage.

It is an interesting question to ask why it did not appear in the earliest texts of the New Testament. The earliest manuscripts of John’s Gospel make no mention of this story. It was almost three centuries before it came to be included in the Gospels. Was it perhaps an embarrassment? A story the early church would have preferred to have forgotten? A piece of the oral tradition about Jesus that no one was quite sure what to do with?

And yet it is one of the most vivid stories about Jesus. One that really rings true.

Here is a woman who has done wrong. There is no question of that. But the scribes and Pharisees bring her to Jesus with a certain relish. This is the chance to show her up: and by so doing, to emphasize their own moral standing. The Law is clear on the penalty for a woman who is unfaithful to her husband. She is to be stoned to death: the penalty that still exists in some Islamic countries.

This is a wonderful opportunity to catch Jesus out. For he has already gained a reputation as a friend of sinners.

But Jesus makes no reply to these religious worthies. While they are sounding off, he stoops down and doodles on the ground with his finger. But they persist. Suddenly, he stands up and looks them in the eye. And what he says is quite brilliant. He doesn’t question the validity of the Law of Moses. But he throws back to her accusers the responsibility for carrying out the sentence.  “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”.

Were these religious people all as righteous as they liked to think? Which of them had never had at least a brief lapse in their moral behaviour. Which of them had never had a lustful thought about another woman? Jesus opens their eyes to their own weakness and frailty. He continues to doodle on the ground. And as he does so, they begin to walk away. And isn’t it interesting, that the older men, are the first to go: those who have had more experience of the world and its temptations.  The younger men follow. And Jesus is left along with the woman.

“Where are they all?” he asks. “Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, Sir” she responds.

“Neither do I condemn you” says Jesus. “Go and sin no more”

What are we to learn from today’s Gospel as we begin our observation of Lent? Firstly it warns us to be on our guard against the Pharisee that exists in all of us. There are times, of course, when we will as Christians be critical of aspects of our society. But all those who would be moral crusaders, should remember that when we speak in condemnation, we speak as sinners ourselves. When I condemn the greed of city bankers, do I not need to reflect on my own love of money and possessions? The materialistic culture that I am a part of? When I condemn the sexual morality of those of whom I disapprove, do I not need to look into my own heart and examine the purity of my thoughts?

Secondly, notice that while Jesus does not condemn, neither does he condone. He does not excuse what the woman has done. Her adultery is a sin. Her tells her not to do it again. Whilst being called to offer love and forgiveness, the Church is not being faithful to her Lord if Christians do not strive for holiness of living.

Thirdly, notice how Jesus treats the woman with respect and dignity. He treats her as a human being: unlike the Pharisees who use her as a pawn, in this instance to try and trick Jesus. When we disapprove of someone’s values , when people shock us by their behaviour, we must not forget that they are human beings made in the image of God. Perhaps when we feel guilt ourselves, we need to recall that we are children of God, loved by him. 

It is a challenging thing to hold together a Gospel of forgiveness and the realities of human sin and weakness. On Ash Wednesday, our starting point is to acknowledge our own need for forgiveness. But having confessed our sin, we open ourselves to the transforming love of God: as this woman did. She came to Jesus in her need: not pretending to any righteousness of her own. In so doing, she was able to receive God’s forgivness, turn her back on her past, and see her life renewed.