Love’s Power
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John 7:53-8:11
53. They went each to his own house, Joh 8:1. but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2. Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4. they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" 6. This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." 8. And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 9. But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10. Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" 11. She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."
When I sat down this morning I remember thinking that I needed some New Testament scripture today--something that tells a story of Jesus! So I came to John and this story of the adulterous woman. One interesting aside to this story is something I read somewhere about the men who accused this woman: they knew of her adultery, because she had been with them! Those were different times, but Jesus didn’t think the laws were just -- and this is another example of how he just turns our world upside down. To forgive someone whom, by law, should be stoned to death, was incomprehensible!
But I have a real-life story on the power of love. And it involves my son’s dog, Bingo. Bingo was his 4th birthday present. My husband and I drove all over to shelters, the SPCA, everywhere looking for the perfect dog--we spent an entire day. We still believe that Bingo picked us, as is often the case with pets! And we drove to the babysitter with the tiny puppy in my lap to surprise our son. And it was love at first site! But on day 3 when I took the puppy to the vet for his shots and a check-up, the vet told us he was pretty sure he had distemper and needed to be “put down.” I’m sure you’ve figured out that we didn’t allow that! Bingo and I spent a summer on the floor of our family room, me on my back, him on my stomach. And today he’s 13 years old. I don’t know if it was love for my son, or for this tiny puppy -- or both that compelled me to pour into that puppy every ounce of strength and love and healing I could muster. But it doesn’t matter. Because love prevailed. (It was later confirmed that he DID have distemper--because of some health issues that presented themselves!)
And that is the message Jesus came to tell us. Love prevails. It forgives sin, and even conquers death. Jesus went one step farther: he said to look into our own hearts before we judge another. Of course, when we do that, it is impossible to look at another person in the same way. It’s interesting that John points out that the older men left first -- was it because they were “more guilty” or simply because they “got it” first? Then Jesus does a couple of things that were equally as surprising considering the times. He speaks directly to this woman -- an outcast not only because of her sex, but because of her “profession.” And then he tells her something she could never have imagined: “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
He grants her the “power” to begin a new life! He erases her past and offers her a bright future. And that’s what Jesus does for us, too! He hung on a cross, and with him every sin in our lives was crucified. And when he rose on Easter morning, he gave us the reward he earned for us: new life. Now I know how much I love Bingo -- and I love my son so much more than that! But even still, I don’t know that I could do what Christ did for me. Even as he breathed his last, he asked God to forgive sinners. Even as he was dying he personally reached out to one of the criminals crucified with him, when he acknowledged the “innocence” of Jesus: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Bingo joins me every morning now as I do my devotions and morning prayer. He lays at my feet and dozes. He’s almost deaf now, and probably partially blind. But he lives on as a testament that love is powerful. It even overcomes death.
I hope today you extend love to someone who, by this world’s standards doesn’t “deserve it.” And that you savor the look of surprise and gratitude on their face.
Mary
