Daily Bread

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’

Guilty but not condemned. Perhaps that could be the strap line for this story, and for the whole gospel?

I sometimes feel like trying to live a holy life — to live without sin — is like swimming against the tide. Despite my best efforts, so far in my life, I don't think I've lived a single day living up to my own standards, let alone God's. It is all too easy to let my own pride, hurts, sensibilities, and emotional or physical needs to dictate my thoughts and actions, often at the expense of God, others, and the world around me. And to make matters worse, it feels like society colludes in this by supporting and maintaining a 'me-centric' world. We live in world that is individualistic, materialistic, puts huge financial pressure on us, and bears no little or no responsibility for the environment. Yep, I'm swimming against a tide.

Surely the purpose of life is not the accumulation of wealth, either for me or for the people for whom I work? Surely it's not about gaining more personal possessions, or satisfying my inner needs and wants as if I am the most important person in the world? Surely there is a better way of living and having our being?

I have painted a pretty bleak picture, and if I'm honest, from a human, earthly perspective, it seems like our world is pretty borked, yet — and this is the important bit — there's a stubborn part of me that refuses to give up hope, and that hope is found in and through the person of Jesus Christ.

My Christianity is a lifeline of hope. When I think about Jesus, who he was, and what he did — when I read stories like this one, about the woman caught in adultery, or how he calmed a storm, or how he confronted evil and pain and suffering — and how Jesus drew a line in the sand to say, "No! No more injustice. No more condemnation. Enough, is enough," I am filled with a defiant hope.

Sin and death no longer has the final word.

Hear these words from Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth where he quotes from the prophet Hosea:

"'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor 15.155-57)

Guilty but — oh my goodness — so not condemned, and that gives me hope.

Holy God
Though I swim against a tide of sin and death,
in a world that makes me wail and weep;
and though there are times I want to give up,
and either stop caring or run and hide,
you give me a lifeline of hope
through your Son, my Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, may I never give up on you
as you have never given up on me.
For this precious world is yours,
and belongs to you, now and forever.
Amen.