Message from Jo
Scripture
“They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him,
but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding
an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, stone her. But let those who
have never sinned throw the first stones!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote
in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning
with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.”
John 8. 6 – 9
A Word
of Hope
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how often we “jump to conclusions.” In his
book The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz suggests that one of the four most important
agreements we can make with ourselves is, “Don’t make assumptions.” He writes, “Nothing
others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own
reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others,
you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.”
I think that we so often make assumptions about circumstances of our lives, about
people we interact with, about things that matter and things of little consequence.
And so often, it seems to me, the assumptions are negative. We assume that someone
is purposely doing things to hurt us, those we love, or those things, institutions,
organizations, nations, etc. that are important to us.
Jesus had a different way of seeing things. When a group of angry people brought a woman to Jesus who had been found to be in an adulterous affair and therefore, they felt, should be stoned according to the law, Jesus challenged their assumptions. He confronted them and asked them to look at their own realities. Faced with their own lives, they turned from their judgment and left her. If you continue to read the story it says that Jesus then turns to the woman and says, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” Even then, Jesus did not make assumptions about her life but allowed her to examine her own reality. He does not judge her but invites her into a new way of living.
I wonder what would happen if we didn’t make assumptions, but rather tried to take things at their face value, examine our own realities and let people examine theirs. What would happen if we gave others the benefit of the doubt? What if our assumptions were that people were actually acting out of their reality and trying to do their best given their particular circumstances? Oh, I don’t mean to say that I don’t think that there are those who would take advantage of us or who are mean-spirited enough to actually want to harm others. But for the most part, I believe that most people want to be good people and do their best. So, why not approach our concerns and questions about the actions of others from that point of view? After all, if God does not judge us, why not do the same for others? Could it be that God is inviting us into a new way of living?
Prayer
Tender God, you have shown us in Jesus Christ how to live and move and have our being. May it be so. Amen.
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