SOLIDARITY

The story of the woman caught in adultery in the Gospel of John (8:1-11) is a story of solidarity. She represents all of us sinners. She is used by the religious leaders as a tool to trap and test Jesus. She is seen not as a human being but as an object to be manipulated by the religious authorities. The story reveals our tendency to use the sins of other people to serve our purposes and agenda. Jesus instead did not condemn the woman not because He condones her sins but because He came not to  condemn but to save. He stands with us sinners to bring healing to our wounded humanity and restore our friendship with God. The purpose of the coming of Jesus is not just to make us nice and morally upright persons but to divinize us so that we participate in the life of God. The story of this woman manifests the work of the devil who is the great accuser, divider and scatterer. Sin divides, separates, scatters and disintegrates. Love instead unites, gathers, makes us whole and integrates so  that we become men and women of integrity. The religious leaders told Jesus that Moses commanded them to stone such women. They insisted in asking His opinion. It is Jesus who is on trial in this story. Either way He goes, He is in trouble. If He says no to stoning, He will be accused for subverting the Mosaic law that prescribes stoning to death. If He says yes to stoning, He will be accused of going against His message of mercy and forgiveness. Moreover, by saying yes to stoning, He will be in conflict with the Roman authorities who alone have the legal authority to impose death penalty. As a response, Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His fingers. There are lots of speculations as to the meaning of His gesture. He could be refusing to play as judge not engaging them. Perhaps He refused to walk into their trap. But the bending down of Jesus reveals  God bending down on us because He sees our misery, pain and suffering and He wants to do something about it. The ultimate bending of God took place on the Cross when Jesus took on Himself all the ugliness and isolation of sin in order to make manifest what sin really looks like and to wipe it away in His precious blood. This is a story of solidarity because no matter what iron traps bind our hearts and paralyze our lives, God is in Christ reconciling the world to Himself and bringing freedom and new life to all of us. We are called then to be imitators of Christ, partners of  God and conduits of His divine grace and love into the world.
Happy Holy Week and a Blessed Easter to all!