The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, United States Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 30 January 2015 “Jesus did not let the law block mercy”
Daily Scripture: Leviticus 20:10 If any of you men have sex with another man’s wife, both you and the woman will be put to death.
21:9 If any of you priests has a daughter who disgraces you by serving as a temple prostitute, she must be burned to death.
John 8:2 Then early the next morning he went to the temple. The people came to him, and he sat down[a] and started teaching them.
3 The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses brought in a woman who had been caught in bed with a man who wasn’t her husband. They made her stand in the middle of the crowd. 4 Then they said, “Teacher, this woman was caught sleeping with a man who isn’t her husband. 5 The Law of Moses teaches that a woman like this should be stoned to death! What do you say?”
6 They asked Jesus this question, because they wanted to test him and bring some charge against him. But Jesus simply bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger.
7 They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and said, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” 8 Once again he bent over and began writing on the ground. 9 The people left one by one, beginning with the oldest. Finally, Jesus and the woman were there alone.
10 Jesus stood up and asked her, “Where is everyone? Isn’t there anyone left to accuse you?”
11 “No sir,” the woman answered.
Then Jesus told her, “I am not going to accuse you either. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.”[b][Footnotes:
8.2 sat down: See the note at 6.3,4.
8.11 don’t sin anymore: Verses 1-11 are not in some manuscripts. In other manuscripts these verses are placed after 7.36 or after 21.25 or after Luke 21.38, with some differences in the text.]
Reflection Questions:
The Pharisees quoted Scripture, almost correctly, in a “God said it” way, implying that Jesus must endorse stoning the woman. Their self-righteousness had turned vicious (they brought only the woman, though Leviticus said to stone the man AND the woman). Jesus said there were two great commandments (cf. Matthew 22:34-40), and one was, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He wouldn’t give binding force to written laws at odds with that. “Neither do I condemn you,” he told the woman, after her accusers slunk away.
• Jesus said, “Whoever hasn’t sinned should throw the first stone.” The accusers left. Jesus, who WAS sinless, didn’t want to throw stones. Who are the people at whom you (perhaps quoting one or more Bible verses) feel like throwing stones? Lay before Jesus the reasons (fears, feelings or events) that make those people so odious to you. Reflect on how neither you nor any of us live up to Jesus’ standard for who should throw stones.
• Jesus’ followers learned from him. In Acts 15, some Christian Pharisees (quoting Genesis 17) insisted on circumcising all Gentile Christian men. Pastor Hamilton wrote of that council, “This is astounding! A council of disciples, upon hearing the testimony of Paul and
Barnabas concerning the faith of the Gentiles, set aside much of the Law of Moses as no longer binding upon the church … What happened was the recognition that parts of the Bible no longer reflected God’s will for his people.” Neither Jesus nor the apostles assumed that “God said it, I believe it, that settles it.”
Prayer: Dear God, help me learn from Jesus’ example. Although he was sinless (or rather, because he was sinless), no more merciful person ever lived. Help me grow more like him. Amen.
Insight from Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.
Since my day job is in the natural gas industry, we are inundated with all sorts of energy-related newsletters, magazines, & periodicals. An unusual commodity publication, “Tomorrow’s Futures, Today” crossed my desk that might pertain to our passage today.
Column: What is Today’s Most Valuable Commodity? – by Trey Dehr
(TFT) – At first glance, the most frequent replies to this question would probably revolve around oil, gold, or silver. With a little more thought our guesses might focus on copper, lithium, or water. However, as we survey today’s marketplace, the one commodity that is in great demand, yet sadly in short supply, would easily be mercy.
A thorough review of newspapers, news outlets & social media sites, we find lots of stories filled with harsh conclusions & vindictive verdicts. While we do everything in our power to avoid jury duty, we can’t seem to wait to act as prosecutor, judge, & jury to offer our rulings against those parties that might have slighted us or perhaps our valued viewpoints.
(Helium Related Trading Rises Sharply) – read more on page 3
Sadly, this rush to judgment has resulted in very little sympathy, consideration, or forgiveness in today’s society. As a culture, we are tempted to think the worse of others – suddenly it’s not a behavioral tic but a permanent personality problem that will never change.
(Electric Generation Down in Light Trading) – read more on page 5
Leniency can also be in short supply because we are so fearful of using it incorrectly. We certainly don’t want to erase proper boundaries or eliminate consequences to the offending party’s unacceptable behavior. So, what are we to do?
(Disposable Diapers Remain Unchanged) – read more on page 6
Jesus, in the famous story of the adulterous woman, offers us some hints to help us reject our hard-wired/knee-jerk response to demand immediate & equal retribution.
He urges the audience of would-be executioners to first review their own behaviors & habits to help encourage some empathy. (This crowd offers us a classic illustration of what some psychologists call “Fundamental Attribution Error” – where we easily blame others for their behavior while at the same time explaining/excusing our own negative actions.)
Jesus then offers clemency to the woman, but not without reminding her that she had done wrong & challenging her to improve her conduct. He thereby reaffirms that this behavior was out-of-bounds & stresses that improvement must occur. He doesn’t offer a life-long pass to the woman to do what she pleases, but rather just extends a well-appreciated second chance.
(Pulp/Paper Mills Trading was Stationery) – read more on page 7
In a market where it seems everything is viewed as a zero sum game, perhaps we should immediately commence E&P operations to begin drilling to discover as many reserves of mercy as possible. After all, our future sustainability vitally depends on grace. Amazing, isn’t it?
(Toilet Paper Market Reaches New Bottom) – read more on page 8
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