Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  

 

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And then they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  

 

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

- John 7:53—8:11 

 

Yesterday we read that on the last day (the eighth day), that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take  Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"   Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

  And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  This action describes what people did following the interaction with Jesus in yesterday's reading, above.  Those who go to their own house are the ones from Jerusalem, particularly those on the ruling Council (the chief priests and Pharisees) who sought to have Jesus arrested and who accuse Him.  Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives to stay as a pilgrim -- as do others -- to Jerusalem at this Feast of Tabernacles.  It emphasizes His outsider status, as one not in official authority in the temple, and also from outside of Jerusalem and Judea, as a Galilean. 

 

 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Here in this next sentence is a contrast; to be seated to teach the people (while they stand) is a position of authority, for in such a way did authoritative rabbis teach. 

 

 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And then they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  My study Bible comments that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).  This ordinance was not observed to the letter in the days of Jesus; the Pharisees brought this particular woman because they saw an opportunity to test Him.  If Jesus had objected to this punishment, my study Bible explains, He could be accused of opposing the Law.  But if He upheld the punishment, He could be accused of showing no mercy to sinners.  My study Bible also points out that this is the single place in the New Testament where we are told that Jesus wrote something.  There are various theories explaining what He possibly wrote.  Some suggest that He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all of these accusers had violated at least once.  Others suggest He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.  

 

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  My study Bible tells us that Christ's answer confounds the Pharisees, as he upholds a great principle of the Law -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23) -- without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17; Psalm 117:2-118:4; Hosea 6:6).  Christ's mercy is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  So that we may receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin, as Christ indicates to the woman in His final word here. 

 

 Today's entire reading (this section of St. John's Gospel) which covers the story of the woman caught in adultery is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom and particular other Church Fathers.  But nevertheless, my study Bible tells us, it's still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, and canonical Scripture; and it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Orthodox Church, this passage is read on one of the two days in which St. Mary of Egypt, a reformed prostitute, is commemorated.  Regardless of the questions regarding this passage, it seems to fit in with the recent themes we've read in St. John's Gospel, which involve questions of just judgment and righteousness.  In our reading from Saturday, we read Jesus' words, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  In yesterday's reading (above), we read not only the words of the Pharisees claiming that no prophet has arisen from Galilee (a false statement, as the prophet Jonah was from Galilee and a town near to Jesus' hometown of Nazareth), but also Nicodemus reminding his fellow Pharisees (only to be insulted and lied to), "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  So questions of judgment, justice, mercy, and righteousness are all relevant here and pertain to the context in which we've just read that the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple officers to arrest Jesus (while still seeking to find charges against Him), but those officers have been converted by Christ's teachings, saying, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:46).  So today's story of the woman taken in adultery, and Christ's question of her judgment, is relevant to its context in a number of ways.  First of all, notably, it's a trap like other traps set to catch Jesus in some plausible accusation for the purposes of destroying Him and His ministry.  He's not part of the authoritative power structure, and is a threat to them.  Indeed, His fame is such that He teaches the people in the temple and they are glad to hear Him; moreover, by now He's become a figure of public discussion and dissension; the people are divided on whether or not He could be the Messiah (but, we've been told, they dare not discuss this openly for fear of the authorities).  Importantly, if we look at the letter of the Law against adultery these men purport to enforce, there is a problem with the case, as the Law says the man involved must also be charged, and for him also the penalty is death (see Leviticus 20:10).  In fact, the concern of the Law as written seems primarily to be concerned with the man's conduct, and secondarily with the woman.  Yet, there is no man presented here.  So this particular case is somehow suspect to begin with.  Is the man one of the ones present? Did he collaborate with authorities to set this up?  What did Jesus write for these men to see, after all, and how was it relevant?  These questions aren't answered, but they may certainly be asked.  Once again, in this context, it all points to the desperation of the religious leaders to silence Jesus, to destroy His popularity and threat to their authority over the people.  The story itself not only teaches us about judging with righteous judgment (and not according to appearance), as Jesus has recently taught, but once again about the mistakes that are made when urgency, greed, desperation, and other heightened passions are in play.  Corners are cut, laws and practices meant to safeguard justice are forgotten, and our own "better natures" -- seeking God's way -- become sidelined all too easily, now as then.  Once again, it's another lesson proper to this period in which we approach Great Lent, with its traditional practices designed to help us better practice dispassion and spiritual discipline, to learn to say no to impulses no matter how heightened they may be or seemingly exigent with the times and the demands of those around us and our circumstances.  Lent and its associated historical practices are meant to help us "hear God" more clearly, to turn to our better natures (or, as President Lincoln famously put it in urging a calming of the passions and an effort for peace to avoid war and bloodshed, "the better angels of our nature").  We live in a time when many of these practices have been discarded or forgotten or ignored.  But on the other hand, there are many now who are just discovering and reviving them.  Perhaps it's time we all realized how necessarily they are, how needful it always is to follow Christ's teachings on discarding our own passions and impulses that drive us astray (see, for example, Matthew 5:21-37 from the Sermon on the Mount), and once again begin to take more seriously the need for spiritual discipline in both our public and private lives.  Let us always seek the wisdom of Christ in all the helpful ways these practices advocate and make possible.  We live in a time when heated debates and proclamations speak about justice and judgment, with passions urged and inflamed at every step.  But perhaps we should try the way the Church has always known to look to ourselves first, and better root ourselves in Christ without the self-righteousness that turns us away from God. For even the men who seek to persecute Jesus are convicted by their conscience in today's reading, and yet this capacity seems sorely ignored as a social good in public discourse today.  Moreover, today we can just imagine people taking either side in this confrontation in the temple, and ratcheting up the temperature.  But let us note Christ's equanimity as model.  Jesus balances the scales with both mercy and justice:  "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

- John 7:53-8:11 

 

 Yesterday we completed reading the passage in Luke's Gospel in which Jesus gave to the disciples a lengthy discourse on the end times (see Luke 21).  He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you will see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  In today's lectionary reading, on this Wednesday as we get into the heart of the Advent season in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we are given a reading from John's Gospel.  This passage (John 7:53-8:11) is the story of the woman caught in adultery.  Notably, it is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the extensive commentaries of St. John Chrysostom and certain other patristic authorities.  But, my study Bible reminds us, it is still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, and it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  It is important that we understand Scripture in this sense.  The setting for this story is Christ's time at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight day harvest festival.  Jesus has been sparring with the religious authorities, who have attempted and failed to seize Him.  Even the temple officers sent to arrest Him have failed to do so. 

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  My study Bible comments here that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).  It says that this ordinance, however, was not observed to the letter in the days of Jesus.  But the Pharisees have brought this particular woman because they saw another opportunity to test Jesus.  If He objected to the punishment, He could be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upheld the punishment, then He could be accused of showing no mercy to sinners.  My study Bible also notes that this is the one place in the New Testament where Christ wrote something.  There are several theories regarding what He wrote.  Some suggest that He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all of the accusers had violated at least once.  Others say that He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  My study Bible says that Christ's answer confounds the Pharisees, because He upholds a great principle of the Law -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23) -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17; Psalms 117:2-118:4; Hosea 6:6).   This mercy, it says, is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  In order for us to receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin, as Jesus teaches the woman ("Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more").

 

 It's important that we pay attention to Jesus' words to this woman.  He tells her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  His response to her manifests what my study Bible notes:  He upholds a great principle of the Law, that the wages of sin is death -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy.  When we look at this statement, that "the wages of sin is death," we should understand it in a particular sense, in order to understand Christ.  My study Bible cites Genesis 2:17 and Romans 6:23 as the Scripture that underpins it.  But we should not understand "death" as punishment for sin.   Rather -- as implied in Jesus' command to "go and sin no more" -- sin leads us away from God, and to be without God is to enter into death, for it is in God that our life is held and maintained.  God's mercy is never stinted, but apart from God, there is only death.  This is why "the wages of sin is death."  All manner of sin in some way participates in death, in corruption; lies are characteristic of the same, building our lives on false ground, living on values that corrupt and ultimately bind us to oppression, suffering, and that which takes away life and the quality of life.  This is particularly true in terms of righteousness, or the way we relate to others within any sense of community, and thus the issue of adultery becomes important in this context of abuse and broken relationships.  It is with this point of view that Jesus admonishes this woman, after she is forgiven, to "go and sin no more," because to "sin more" would be once again to enter into the way of death, the path which leads to our own loss of eternal life promised by Christ.  This promise is not a "reward"  and its absence is not "punishment."  It is, in fact, our choice for the way of life and the way of death (Deuteronomy 30:15-20), but these are paths that in fact affect our ontological reality, who we are and who we become.  This is not simply about what happens after we physically die, but about our own quality of life in this world, and the blessed way He offers, in contrast to the way of death, which is synonymous with evil and the evil one.  For there are fruits of the Spirit which come with this way of life, as well as fruits of the flesh (that is, life outside of this blessed way).  To walk in this way is to experience a type of peace and joy that aren't to be found elsewhere.  This woman has received the mercy of Christ -- and rightly so, for all kinds of reasons.  But nonetheless, He instructs her to "go and sin no more."   To continue to do so is to walk the way of death, but to follow Him is the way of life more abundantly.  For He is the way, the truth, and the life.  The way to enter into this life is through repentance, for we all sin, even if it's simply to miss a higher mark to which we're called, a better way.  In all cases, our way of life is to follow Him.

 

 

He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first

 

 And everyone went to his own house.

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

- John 7:53-8:11 

 

 In our current readings, Jesus is attending the eight-day Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  It is the now the final year of His earthly life and ministry.  Yesterday we read that on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.    Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  . . ."  My study Bible tells us that this story of the woman caught in adultery is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the commentaries of st. John Chrysostom and certain other patristic teachers.  But nevertheless, it says, it is still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, and it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Orthodox Church, it is read on one of the two days when St. Mary of Egypt, a reformed prostitute, is commemorated.

". . . Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  My study Bible says that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).   But at the time of Jesus, this ordinance was not observed to the letter.  This particular woman was brought to Jesus by the Pharisees simply because it was an opportunity to test Him.  If Christ objected to the punishment, then He could be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upheld the punishment, then He could be accused of showing no mercy ot sinners.  My study Bible further comments that this is the single place in the New Testament where Christ wrote something.  There are several theories which exist as to what it was He wrote.  Some suggest that He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all the accusers had violated at least once.  Others say He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."   Christ's answer is confounding to the Pharisees, in that He upholds a great principal of the Law here -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23) -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17, Psalms 117:2-118:4, Hosea 6:6).  My study Bible emphasizes that this mercy is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  In order for us to receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin, as Jesus tells the woman, just as He has previously said to the paralytic He healed.

 

 It's interesting to me that the Gospel tells us that Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  As the scribes and Pharisees continue to ask Him for His response, He tells them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And then again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  There is nowhere else in any of the Gospels (or, as my study Bible points out, any of the New Testament) where it's indicated that Jesus ever wrote anything.  Clearly, if He's writing with His finger on the ground, this will also not be any sort of written statement left for posterity.  (Can one imagine if He did leave such a thing for us?)  No, clearly, this writing is only meant for a certain person or persons, and we have no idea what He did write.  But if we link up this noteworthy moment where we're told Jesus writes twice with other things we read in the Gospel, we are given a picture of Jesus that shakes us from the image of the itinerant preacher and the people who are His disciples.  First of all, He's clearly literate.  In Luke's Gospel, He reads the Scripture in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth.  When He stands to read on the Sabbath, He's handed the scroll of Isaiah.  He finds the specific place where He can read the following, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."  And He makes this announcement to His hometown:  "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  (See Luke 4:16-30.)  It's not clear where or how His learning came or if He received training in a religious school, but we do know He is not simply an average member of the "people of the land" such as the fishermen who are His disciples, or so many others who  become believers.  In stooping down to write, Jesus, poetically enough, shows us that He is, in fact, on the level of the educated ones, the Pharisees and scribes of Jerusalem in the temple.  He has their skills and education, and moreover, we could say in the tones of American slang, He also "has their number."   He knows "where they are at," He knows what they are up to, and He knows them and their lives.  He is every bit up to the skill of debating and verbal skirmishing they can bring to Him, and He gives the perfect response that stops the trap they've set for Him:  "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."   We don't know what it is He stooped to write on the ground, both before and after this statement, but whatever it was, He was quite effective.  One by one, from first the oldest and down to the last, they are convicted by their conscience, and go out one by one until only Christ is left with the woman.  In the law as it was written, both the man and woman caught in adultery are supposed to be punished.  Perhaps we should assume that what Christ wrote had something to do with that missing man, and the circumstances in which the woman was brought to Him.  We don't know.  But what we do understand is that Christ is on everyone's level, and that they are no match for Him -- not in human skills and learning, and certainly not in terms of His insight and divine knowledge.  Neither are they a match for His mercy and His justice.  At this present time, we can look around ourselves and see a lot of figurative stone throwing.  Vilification and cancel culture, character assassination and insinuation are made the norms of the day, with more censorship to come of "wrong" opinion and statements.  It seems that, for many, pointing a finger at someone else really does seem to exclude or erase one's own sins, or perhaps to hide them.  Most of this is done today on social media, and it seems doubtful that -- without Jesus around face-to-face -- anyone pauses long enough to be convicted by their conscience regarding their own fallibility or past errors and sins.  We who are among the older crowds of the population should probably be the first to consider our own behavior, if the Gospel -- and real experience -- is anything to go by.  And again, we have to ask ourselves, who is setting this example today?  There is a lot of scolding of others to go around, but it hardly seems that the humility (and wisdom)  to reflect first is very popularly practiced.  Perhaps we should all be convicted by our consciences if we realize that we might be more hard-hearted than even the Pharisees and scribes we read about in today's reading.  On the other hand, it is a reminder that we need to hear Christ's words now more than ever, especially if we are tempted to join in the condemnation.

 

 

 

 

He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first

 

 And everyone went to his own house.

***

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." 

 

- John 7:53-8:11 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke a parable to those with whom He was speaking about end times, both the fullness of worldly time and His second coming, and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.  He said, "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him. 

 And everyone went to his own house. . . . But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.   Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  Although the lectionary is currently in the midst of readings in Luke (in yesterday's reading we finished Luke chapter 21), in today's reading it skips to a text from John's Gospel.  This reading is from the last verse of John 7, and the beginning of John 8.  The setting is the Feast of Tabernacles, which, in accordance with John's Gospel, Jesus attended midst His three year ministry.  Many important things happen at this Feast, significant events in Christ's ministry, and tremendous examples of His preaching, inspired by and reflecting various elements of the Feast (see John 7 - 10:21).  Today's reading, however, is one section that doesn't always appear in the lectionary.  This is because, according to my study bible, this story which follows of the woman caught in adultery is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it found in the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom and specific other patristic commentators.  But it is nevertheless sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, and canonical Scripture.  It bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Eastern Church, it is read on the day when St. Mary of Egypt is commemorated.

And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.   My study bible comments here that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).  However, this was not observed to the letter in Jesus' time.  The Pharisees simply bring this woman to Him because it is an opportunity to test Jesus.  If He objects to the punishment, then they can accuse Him of opposing the Law.  If Christ upholds the judgment, He can be accused of showing no mercy to sinners.  My study bible also adds that this is the one place in the entire New Testament where we're told that Jesus wrote something.  There are many theories regarding what it was exactly that He wrote.  Some suggest He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which every accuser here had violated at least once.  Others say that He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  Jesus' answer is confounding to the Pharisees, because, according to my study bible, He upholds a great principle of the Law -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23), while at the same time He does not neglect the greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17; Psalms 116:2-117:4; Hosea 6:6).  This mercy is freely offered to all repentant sinners.  In order to receive this gift, we must flee from sin.  We might observe that Jesus gives this same advice to go and sin no more after some of His gracious healings (see, for example, John 5:14).  

If we read the statute in the Law carefully regarding adultery, we see that both male and female who commit adultery are to be put to death (Leviticus 20:10).  As the Law is written with an orientation toward men, the emphasis is on breaking the rights of marriage by committing adultery with another man's wife.  Logically speaking, if this woman in the text was caught in adultery, there must have been a man also committing adultery, and therefore breaking the statute.  It stands to reason that the man was known to the scribes and Pharisees testing Jesus; for all we know, he might have been one of them.  Therefore the story is from the start unjust and lopsided, besides the fact that this statute was no longer upheld to the letter of the Law in Christ's time.  So, we have to focus on the fact that bringing her to Him is, in fact, simply a trap designed to catch Him in such a way that He can be accused before the people, and diminished in their eyes as a holy Man.  If we look at it that way, we have to view this test the way my study bible sees it:  with one answer He might be accused of opposing the Law, and with another He can be accused of hard-heartedness -- or, as my study bible puts it, of failing to forgive sinners.  And let us remember that this is the very thing for which Jesus has scandalized the Pharisees and scribes.  He has sat at dinner with notorious sinners such as the tax collector Matthew (also known as Levi) whom He has taken on as disciple (see Luke 5:29-39).   A Pharisee who had invited Christ to a dinner in his home was scandalized when a well-known sinful woman bathed Christ's feet (Luke 7:36-50).  If they can show Him as being hard-hearted in this instance, perhaps it will burst the appealing bubble of Christ as the One who forgives, even taking on disciples -- apparently both male and female -- who are known, even rather notorious sinners.  This might even be a clever way to burst the popularity of His ministry, this "new" covenant for which "new wineskins" are necessary, as He has so summarily told them on the occasion of their criticism when He dined with Matthew and his friends (Luke 5:36-39).  Let's note also that both of those occasions -- dining with tax collectors and when the sinful woman bathed His feet -- were quite public.  They were occasions on which Jesus' rebuke of those who would accuse Him of failing to properly uphold the Law where sinners were concerned was quite public.  His dismissals of those who would make a scandal of His commerce with such people were, as reported in the Gospels, even rather abrupt.  So this occasion in the temple becomes, in that plausible setting, of comeuppance by those scribes and Pharisees whom He had rebuked.  It was a kind of test to put that dispute to rest one way and another.  But yet again, they failed to do so -- for Christ went right to the heart of the matter.  It doesn't really matter who we are, nor how exemplary our behavior or exalted our position.  There will always be some way in which we, also, are imperfect.  All of us need God's mercy, one way and another.  Besides the missing man who had to be also caught in adultery, there's another kind of obvious hypocrisy here which Jesus points to with His command,  "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."   As we think of these words today, let us ponder how easily we throw stones at others in a modern medium:  that of the virtual world of the internet and social media.   We might think this story has nothing to do with today, but we'd be wrong.  In fact, I'd suggest there is an epidemic of unconscious and cruel stone-throwing going on around us.  Perhaps those who are quick to do so have never bothered to think about their own imperfections, or how easy it is to find something -- or concoct something out of thin air, as the case may be -- with which to label another.  Just like this woman seemingly plucked out of nowhere and brought before Jesus, there is a backstory to everything.  With social media, it is just that much more easy to conjure up facts taken up out of nowhere, to omit the circumstances, to edit the fullness of the whole story.  We are rather quick to throw stones, even while in our hypocrisy -- far from alien to the world of Jesus' criticism of the Pharisees and the scribes -- allows us to target others when we ourselves are far from perfect specimens of kindness or care, or even real compassion that is not simply for social appearance.  Moreover, like these scribes and Pharisees themselves, appearance-driven "good deeds" are frequently motivated by a deeper, hidden, and selfish ulterior interest.  Let us think twice when we see others vilified.  Let us look to the real story.  But most of all, let us consider how easily we ourselves - as opportune victims for another's hostility -- could be targeted and treated the same.  For true compassion comes only through humility, a virtue sorely missing from the pantheon of attributes that seem to be widely admired today, when it is so often the voice of the snide that pervades the dialogue of what passes for insight.

Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

- John 7:53-8:11

 Yesterday we read that on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles (which Jesus is attending in Jerusalem), He stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of them.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man  before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Jesus remains in Jerusalem as a pilgrim, staying with other pilgrims to the Festival on the Mount of Olives.  It is a poetic complement to the Feast of Tabernacles (or tents), which commemorates the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai without permanent structures, that Jesus has no house to go to.  It reminds us that God dwelt in the tabernacle that went with the people and led them wherever they were going, by day and by night (Exodus 40:38).

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  Today's reading is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  It also is not covered in the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom (c. 349-407) and certain other Church Fathers.  But it is still "sealed by the Church" (as my study bible says) as authentic, inspired, and canonical Scripture.  Therefore it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Eastern Church, it is read on one of the two days when St. Mary of Egypt, a reformed prostitute, is commemorated. 

And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.   My study bible tells us that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10; let us note that the statute explicitly applies particularly to a man committing adultery with another man's wife, but both to the man and the woman).  In the days of Jesus, my study bible says, this ordinance was not observed to the letter.  The Pharisees have brought this particular woman because it was an opportunity to test Jesus.  If He objected to the punishment, He could be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upheld the punishment, then it would be possible to accuse Him of showing no mercy to sinners.  This is the single occasion in all of the New Testament in which Jesus wrote something.  There are many theories about what specifically He wrote.  Some have commented that He wrote the Ten Commandments, which each accuser had violated at least one time.  Others suggest that He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.   Even if we look specifically at the statute itself, above, then we can see the flaws in the accusation (e.g. why is the man with whom she is caught committing adultery -- in the very act, we're told -- not brought to Him also?).

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  Jesus upholds a great principle of the Law here:  that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23).  However, He confounds the Pharisees, because He does not neglect the greater aspect of the Law:  mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17, Psalm 117:2-118:4; Hosea 6:6).  This mercy, my study bible says, is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  In order for us to receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin.  Jesus' admonition to the woman, sin no more, is the same given to the paralytic He healed on the Sabbath at the previous festival in Jerusalem (5:14), for which He now faces the wrath of the religious leaders.

Mercy and the Law seemingly conflict, in our own limited perception of God's grace in giving both the Law and the concepts of mercy and love (Psalm 136).  Often translated as "steadfast love," this understanding of mercy also includes faithfulness and loyalty, even that which is unbreakable.  It is an integral part of the covenant with God.  As my study bible points out here, even in Jesus' time, the statute used to accuse the woman was not upheld to the letter of the Law.  It's also important that another possible accusation they could have made against Jesus, had He judged in favor of stoning the woman, would be that He was unmerciful.  (While one suspects that it was to the advantage of men that the letter of the Law was not upheld, there is still the element of mercy present in its relaxation -- that is what is missing from the accusation against the woman alone.)  Clearly, throughout the Old Testament and in Jesus' culture of the time, mercy was an essential and understood quality of God the Lord.  In that sense, Jesus also fulfills the "type" of the Lord of the Old Testament.  While mercy is not a new concept to introduce here, its use in practice of good judgment seems constantly to arise in Jesus' response to the dilemmas presented to Him by the leadership in order to trip Him up, in order to trap Him in an answer for which they may bring an accusation against Him.  The central charge currently made against Him, that He healed the paralytic in violation of the Sabbath (see this reading), remains an issue of mercy for which Jesus is aggrieved with these religious leaders for their hardness of heart.  It is not that He does not uphold the Law.  He has said that He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-20).  But as Lord, the author of the Law, He points to the purposes of the Law.  They must express God's steadfast love and mercy.  In teaching us not to sin, in encouraging us to grow closer to God in communion -- even in participation which is offered through the Eucharist -- Jesus simply expresses more fully the love of God than was possible before the Incarnation.  All of this instruction is for our good.  That is, for ourselves, for our communities, for our world.  Even today, we can take the single element which is the most slender of all in today's reading, and easily missed, that of Jesus' participation in this Feast of Tabernacles as pilgrim, and we can apply it to our world and its present problems.  To be a pilgrim is to be a voyager, a traveler, one who lives light upon the land.  It is not to be an owner.  If we had more a sense of ourselves as pilgrims in this world, perhaps then such an understanding would teach us better how to be stewards as opposed to owners or exploiters of the world around us and all that is in it, including our fellow creatures.  There is nothing in the Gospels -- especially and including Jesus' admonition to sin no more -- which does not speak to God's love and mercy for human beings.  Sin takes us away from God; it is not merely a violation of a law or statute.  That sort of legalistic thinking is precisely what will enable the crucifixion of Jesus.  But if we understand sin as that which separates us further from God, that whatever instruction we are given is through God's love and steadfast, even infinite mercy, then we may be on the road to true healing and better communion ourselves.  Pure rationality and legalism may not get us to the place where we understand that mercy and the law come from the same place, the same Source.  It will not teach us how to see these two things as anything but dilemma and contradiction.  But love will.  It is the one way to see Christ and to understand God's work in us and among us.  To sin no more is not the advocacy of legalism, but of love.  Let us try to understand our Lord and the communion He wants with us.

Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." 

- John 7:53-8:11

In recent readings, Jesus has been in Jerusalem, and it is Passover week.  Yesterday, we read that He spoke to His disciples a parable, after discussions in which Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, and also spoke regarding His Second Return:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away. "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.
  
 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  Today we briefly skip to John's Gospel for this story.  Some references suggest that early manuscripts of John didn't include it; others suggest it goes elsewhere in John's Gospel, or here in Luke's Gospel, right after yesterday's reading.  In the story in John, Jesus is in Jerusalem attending the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn harvest festival which is also a feast of the Coming Kingdom, commemorating the time that Israel lived in tents or tabernacles.  My study bible says that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).  But this ordinance wasn't observed to the letter at Jesus' time.  So the conclusion is that the Pharisees are testing Jesus to trap Him, by bringing this woman to Him.  If He objected to the punishment, then He could be accused of opposing the Law; if He upheld it then He could be accused of showing no mercy to sinners.  My study bible notes that this is the only place in the New Testament where it's recorded that Jesus wrote something.  It says, "Several theories exist as to what He wrote.  Some say He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all the accusers had violated at least once.  Others say He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery."  The statute in Leviticus says that both adulterer and adulteress should be put to death, so one obvious question here remains:  Where is the man?

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."   My study bible suggests that Jesus' answer confounds the Pharisees, because He's upholding a great principle of the Law -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23) -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17; Psalms 116:2-117:4; Hosea 6:6).  God's mercy is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  "In order for us to receive this gift," it says, "we must in turn flee from sin."

There's a small aspect of today's story that intrigues me.  I hadn't really noticed it so clearly before today.  That is that those whose consciences have been stricken go out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  What is it about being older that would have this effect more quickly on the "elders" in this group?  Perhaps they've heard more preaching, or they understand the precepts of Judaism more clearly.  Perhaps they've simply been working at this longer, and so know their place here more swiftly.  But one thing we can possibly conclude here is that the insight of experience has to count for something.  In a spiritual context, the "elders" within a religious community become important figures.  That is because religious experience has to count for something, or perhaps we might call it spiritual experience.  In the Eastern Christian understanding (in Orthodoxy) the elder plays a very important role.  It's considered that an elder (usually but not necessarily someone who has been living in a monastery, devoted to the spiritual life) is a person who can guide others.  In this sense, then, an older age isn't necessarily the defining point of an elder, but rather one who has faced the struggle for reliance on God to a greater or deeper extent, intensity, or period of spiritual growth.  To battle within ourselves on this journey there is one thing highly necessary, and that is that we know ourselves -- truly know ourselves in a way that is unreservedly honest, even when we would rather not know!  There's an ancient Greek adage inscribed on monastery doors, so old that it appeared in the ancient religion at the temple of Delphi:  "Know thyself" (γνῶθι σεαυτόν).  It was used by Socrates, but existed long before his time as a kind of essential wisdom.  Practices of confession came out of this understanding:  in the Eastern tradition, confession is not so much simply a catalogue of personal sins as it is a way to confer with an elder, to really come to know oneself, to have as clear a picture as possible of who we are, including the plank in our own eye that Jesus spoke to us about.  To know who we are truly is to practice humility, and to grow in this practice.  And to grow spiritually really seems to mean to become aware of our own flaws and shortcomings, all those awful things we might see in others and understand just because we've got the same flaws, vulnerabilities, and weaknesses.  This is what it means that the elders in the crowd were the ones who went out first.  To have any wisdom, to come to know ourselves through spiritual discipline, means that we must be aware, conscious enough to develop a real conscience.  I see so many people rushing to judgment these days; and it seems especially true of the young somehow.  Jumping on a bandwagon of condemnation is characteristic of both scapegoating and bullying, and contrary to personal responsibility, to conscience.  But becoming older and wiser must mean that we grow in knowledge from our own mistakes -- and true spiritual seeking means we become more aware of sin and error, but especially via coming to terms with our own!  For today, I would like to focus on this important concept of spirituality; that it is spiritual experience which is essential.  It's not just that we grow in our relationship to God, to Christ.  But without this serious examination and understanding of ourselves, knowledge of the spiritual struggle and journey, how can we help anyone else on their way?  How do we possibly help to remove the splinter in someone else's eye unless we know what it is like to struggle with that plank and with time, remove it?  (Or, at least some of it.)  We need the humility and honesty to really be good spiritual leaders, and that doesn't come via ideology.  It doesn't come with laws.  It doesn't come with theories, no matter how true.  The best teacher in this struggle is experience; it is an experience not only of our own imperfections and struggle to change (to repent), but also the experience of God, God's love and God's mercy.   Without this direct experience, how can we communicate the things of God?  How else do we truly know and learn love?  We'll never know what Jesus wrote on the ground, so seemingly oblivious to the men around Him.  But we know the outcome, and we know the real effect of what it is to understand.  Let us remember that Jesus doesn't insist on the innocence of anyone here; rather that He tells her He won't condemn her.  But His message is clear to her, too:  "Go and sin no more."