What strikes me about this often quoted story of a woman caught in adultery are three things. One, we’re often told that Jesus “forgives” her for her sins. But the truth is, he does no such thing. He’s asked to condemn her to a gruesome death and instead turns the question to her accusers, asking them to examine their own hypocrisy. In their rush to judge this woman, they put the law above empathy, above seeing people as individuals, above even letting her speak for herself. One might compare this to the kind of outrage we see exhibited on the internet, were we often rush to judgement of one another. Instead, Jesus instead chooses not to condemn her. And that’s not the same thing as forgiveness, because, perhaps, in her case, there’s nothing for him to forgive.
Which brings me to my second thought: what if she didn’t do it? It’s the mob of men that accuses her, the scribes and Pharisees Jesus is constantly warning us about, who claim they caught her in the act. However, what we know from stories of abuse in our own church and in the media is that these acts don’t often happen publicly; they happen behind closed doors, and in secret, and they happen that way deliberately, so the perpetrator is less likely to be caught, so the victim can be shamed into silence and self-blame. We also know that women had little to no agency in Jesus’ time. Condemned, they would usually be killed, whether they were guilty or not.
And here is the third thing: the woman never asks for forgiveness. Unlike those who’ve been accused, who’ve been found guilty and who have publicly begged for forgiveness, she is silent, until Jesus asks who has really condemned her, and her answer is no one. It’s no coincidence that our other readings today are about new ways of doing things, new ways of seeing ourselves and the world around us.
--Kaya Oakes
Image source: The Stoning, https://theschoolofthetransferofenergy.com/2008/07/15/the-final-version-of-the-stoning/
Quotation source
Quotation source
No comments:
Post a Comment