Monday – 5th Week in Lent  3/23/26  revisited

Gospel - John 8:1-11

Expecting the worst

Garden of Gethsemane

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?  Where exactly were the Pharisees hiding in order to catch the woman in the act of adultery?  How long were they hiding? How long had they been planning this?  Why would they put so much time and energy into expecting someone to sin, much less catch them at it?

Jesus was spending some time in the Garden of Gethsemane praying and was then confronted by this situation.  The difference between Him and the Pharisees is stark.  The Pharisees seem to view people at their worst and expect nothing less, nothing more.  They pre-judge others based on their past and don’t even allow the possibility that they could change.  Jesus sees the woman, forgives her sins (her past) and challenges her to do better.

Where are we?  Do we judge others based on something they did in the past?  Do we treat them as sinners and ourselves as better?  Or do we accept people as they are – human, fragile, prone to mistakes – and hope for the best?  Aren’t we all in the same boat?  Don’t we all make mistakes?  Don’t we all hope for forgiveness, for the chance to do better?

 

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