What Would He Have to Write?
A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
September 30, 2018
at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Zuni, Virginia
Romans 8: 1, 31-39
John 8: 1-11
Let us pray,
Help us to see despite our eyes
Help us to think outside of our minds
Help us to be more than our lives
For your eyes show the way
Your mind knows the truth
Your being is the life.
Amen.
Last week, we spent some time looking at the
idea of what it would mean to be In Christ, and found that what Paul is
describing cannot be contained in just one preposition, just one directional,
situational, or relational word, like in, or through, or about 11 other terms
he describes the notion with. And we allowed ourselves to think about how such
wonders could be communicated to people now, even the most questioning of
folks, who have mostly made their minds up already, just upon hearing even the
name Jesus, whose preconceived notions are a product of simplified and narrow
understandings that develop over time because they are of course true, but also
easier than the fullness of what could be. So in other words we left with
things pretty abstract. Today I want to do the opposite, and thanks to the
choir, and Debbie’s picking of the anthem, we have a story to run alongside our
passage in Romans. We have the story of Jesus saving an adulterous from stoning
by merely writing something mysterious in the dust.
So this morning I want to use that story from
John’s gospel parallel with what Paul has to say in chapter 8 of Romans. If you
look at the bulletin you’ll see the Romans selections start with the first
verse, and then it jumps ahead to later in chapter 8. I want to read it
separated, with the Gospel passage in the middle. So let’s start. . . Romans 8:
1, for those of you hear last week, this should be familiar,
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.”
There it is, no condemnation. . . we focused on In Christ Jesus last
week, and this morning I want to focus on “condemnation” because you will hear
that very word in this Gospel story, so let’s go now to John 8: 2-11
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts,
where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The
teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.
They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was
caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the
Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 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.7 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.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the
ground.
9 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.10 Jesus
straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned
you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she
said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus
declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
This story is somewhat familiar I think, it is
a major moment in Jesus’ ministry, central to our understanding of Jesus and
his unique way of being there for those who are downtrodden, marginalized, and
on the outs with the norms and judgements of society. He stands up for her,
says he who is without sin to cast, and no one casts a stone, actually they all
depart. Jesus writes on the ground and they all depart. There are some details
that jumped out at me anew this time. . .
I noticed that they kept questioning, and yet
he silently wrote in the dirt,. . . that he writes, then stands. . . says the
cast the first stone line. . . it is as if he ignores their questions, their
agenda, their badgering, them completely. . .
I noticed how it says. . . they each left. . .
one at a time. . .the oldest first. . . interesting detail right, why the
oldest first?
And then I noticed something that stood out
this week more than other weeks, and that is that it says “They were using this
question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. . .”
The sin of adultery is
used to attack Jesus, they don’t care about adultery do they, no they care
about using this woman to attack Jesus. . .
Debbie and I
considered switching this morning’s music and message to last week, but thought
against it. . . now I know why we were led like that, how much more powerful is
our insight into this, this week than it would have been last week.
Think about the position
that the Pharisees put Jesus in. . . if Jesus offers grace to the woman, they
are ready to pounce, they are ready to pounce and say, what do you not care
about adultery, do you not care about the Law, do you not care about our
traditions? There may be someone in the crowd their whose life was torn apart
by adultery in their own home. . . their wife or husband cheated, their mother
or father broke vows. . . their homes, their families broken, ruined. . . they
might grab Jesus, what are you doing, how can you not condemn this woman? Do
you not care about adultery? Do you not care that homes are broken? They may
grab him in the elevator, crying, screaming, wailing, are you saying that my
experience doesn’t matter, are you saying that my life being torn apart doesn’t
matter, are you saying that my experience isn’t valid, my pain, my tragedy,
this happened to me too. . . maybe there is a whole movement of people, victims
of adultery, coming out of the woodwork, me too, this happened to me too, and
we will not be silenced! I demand justice, and I hold it here in my hand in
this stone!
And the Pharisees who
set up this situation just wait and watch, and know that they have him. . .
And if he condemns
her. . . then he validates this witch hunt, this kangaroo court, this mob
justice. . . Disgusting. . . and it is just as disgusting when this type of
thing happens today.
And the shame of it
all is that adultery is a problem, it is
Class Ten Commandments
discussion – laws logical
It’s a bad thing and
it affects people, it breaks down society in ways that are truly real, all
encompassing, and intergenerational. . . it just doesn’t affect now, it affects
years from now.
But again that isn’t
what the Pharisees care about. . .
And Jesus doesn’t give
them the answer they are looking for, he doesn’t say things all alright instead
he draws in the dirt and says one thing. . . not to throw stones if we have
sin. . .
This is the most
powerful writing I’ve done on this idea. . . from the Good Friday Service I’ve
put together. . . think of this. . .
He told us not to
throw stones unless
We had no sin, but
he had no sin,
And so we hanged
him instead,
Whipped, and
bloody, there he hangs,
Right there on
that cross:
Holy hands, Holy
feet, thorny crown,
All complete, and
yet He forgives us,
Even so He
forgives us,
And still He
forgives us,
Here is a basket
of stones.
Who shall be
first? Who shall be last?
Take one, each one
is jagged, broken,
Just like you are,
none is perfect,
No smooth edges,
so grab hold of yourself,
And throw it, do
the job and destroy perfection,
He makes us look
bad, like fools,
Take one, any one,
throw it.
Look he's made it
easy,
He turns His back,
He's closed His
eyes
Throw it now!
No?
Coward.
Coward.
How can we ever
pick up a stone
again, then?
Father, do you
still forgive us when we do?
Its hard to throw a
stone with that in mind isn’t it. . . but there is also the dirt, the writing,
and it doesn’t say what he wrote. . .
What could it have
been?
“I know”
“She’s one of God’s
Children”
“I love you”
“There is more to this
than just law”
Starts naming names. .
. listing sins. . . think back to Psalm 130. . . if you lord were to record
sins, if you were to mark iniquities, who could stand? Who could stand?
Perhaps he writes
Psalm 130 out
Does he write the name
of the man involved. . . right there is always two participants in an adultery,
where is he?
Is it someone
powerful? Someone everyone depends on?
Or is it magical. . .
does he write something, and everyone sees it differently?
They all see into
their own personal guilt, their own personal fall out
Their own dirt?
I wrote this a few
years ago when wrestling with the story for another sermon
What did he write on the ground with his finger,
When he bent down and wrote there in the dust?
Did those assembled, ready to throw their stones,
Feel his gentle scratching in the dirt on their hearts?
Their guilt felt something strange deep inside,
Though his finger just barely scratched the surface.
They didn't like it, whatever it was, the itch he scratched,
Because they got out of there, quick, but she stayed.
I guess her soul was already laid bare in public,
So she could take a little scratching and then go on.
Is there freedom in
being laid bare?
Scarlet Letter. . .
Pearl . . . Rev Dimmesdale
And they all
disappear, one by one. . . why do the old leave first?
Are they the most
guilty?
Have they seen enough
to realize this is all a sham?
Do they have the
perspective to realize how corrupt they are first?
How much their battle
is absurd?
Do the young just hold
on because they feel the world turns on winning?
What insight does Paul
give us?
1 What,
then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us,who can
be against us? 32 He
who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not
also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against
those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?No one.
Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right
hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
37 No, in
all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What if Jesus started writing John 3 16 in the
dirt?
What if he simply wrote, yes even you. . . how
would we take that?
What does this say to us. . .
WE hold on, we fight everybattle, we get
righteous, indignant, angry, we hold on tightly, we fight back. . . we let the
ends justify the means. . . I mean, they do it right, why shouldn’t we?
We escalate the battle, and fight, fight,
fight, because being right is important. . . but is it more important?
For I am convinced that
neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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