Word to the Wise
Monday, March 30, 2009 - Monday in the Fifth Week of Lent
[Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 and John 8:1-11]Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin any more."
Susannah and the lady in front of Jesus have one thing in common. They are victims of mass judgment! Susannah is innocent. There's no question that the lady in front of Jesus was guilty of the act she is accused of. The fickle mood of a lynch mob is the common dynamic here. A scapegoat is needed to satisfy the bloodlust! That is no exaggeration! One of the few things people love to "rush" to is judgment of another! Recent advancements in DNA testing have shown us how quickly our society can condemn an innocent person to death! Whether the judgment is one we make in our mind/heart or one made publicly by a court or government agency, the question is the same. What is the meaning of mercy? Have we created a standard foreign to what we see of Jesus' conduct? Do we hear ourselves saying, "So and so doesn't deserve any mercy because they did not show any?" What then does such an attitude say about US? Today's word of God confronts us about our connection of mercy with guilt or innocence! The plain fact is that we are all in need of God's mercy and one another's. We can be confident of God's mercy, but can we be confident of one another's? Perhaps this Lent each of us can make some progress on that! AMEN
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