16 March 2013, Seoul, Korea
Scripture Text: John 8: 1-11
My theological inkling on the text:
“Forgiveness written in the sand”
by Frank Hernando
Before the invention of typewriters and computers there were only the stylus and ink and papyrus tree barks were used for writing laws and the Scripture. As sociological studies of the Bible have disclosed that during the time of Jesus, not many can have access to ink and papyrus and writing was not very common then. The scribes and the Pharisees who intruded into the crowd that gathered around Jesus and for sure read the torah or the Levitical laws that were accessible to them in the temple or in synagogues. They know well the written laws and I would think that they have memorized large portions of the torah. Bringing in a woman caught in adultery, the scribes and Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into judging the woman based on his calculation of the written moral law inscribed in the torah. They quoted the text from Leviticus 20:10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of[a] his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death,” to make a test case of adultery to Jesus. We can perceive that at this time of ministry, many people from the underside of the Jewish society have avidly followed Jesus and created ripples of disgust to the scribes of Pharisees. Because of the growing number of followers of Jesus and those who attracted to the new meaning of the Scripture, Jesus’ detractors were determined to stop him from eventually playing a central role in the life of the people. Anxious of this possibility, they always tried to trap Jesus.
As mentioned in the exegetical commentary on John 8 by W. Hall Harris III:The scribes and Pharisees must have thought they had Jesus in the classic “double bind” situation—they could get him no matter what he did or said. If he upheld the Law and commanded that the woman be stoned, they could bring accusation before Pilate (since the death penalty was not permitted to the Jewish authorities), and this could be combined with the popular acclamations of him as King. If, on the other hand, he overturned the Law, he would be discredited with the people.
But Jesus know full well of their intention and in a minute or so, he wrote something on the ground, a gesture of writing one’s thoughts on paper or typing on a keyboard of a computer. The scribes and Pharisees may have kept on pestering Jesus about the case and getting impatient of hearing what he had to say, and he finally spoke to his detractors, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Simply put, Jesus confronted his detractors by telling them that if they think they have the authority to mete-out punishment, why don’t they do it. Then he bent down again to write on the ground, while they left one by one. Here we can understand that the scribes and Pharisees were not in position or have the authority to mete-out the punishment on the woman who was caught in adultery. Jesus kept on writing on the ground mimicking the one who has authority to write or rewrite laws for life rather than writing laws for the sake of laws or for the preservation of institutional or class interests. The woman was freed from shame and guilt imposed on her by society. Jesus firmed up the belief in his hearers’ mind that God is a loving and forgiving God and that the social laws or any other laws are there to guide people in making their lives whole and meaningful rather than miserable and hopeless. He said to her, Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” What Jesus wrote on the ground are obscured from our knowledge, but the whole story tells us that even if the words of forgiveness are written in the sand and washed away by the waves, what has been written down in the sand can be written in the hearts and minds of those who wanted to live out the values of God’s kingdom.
SHARING TIME GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. What are the requisites of forgiveness? If any.
2. Why is forgiveness necessary?
3. How true is, "to err is human, to forgive is divine'?
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION:
1. Some participants mentioned that it is possible to forgive without preconditions or requisites, like when someone has hurt her and apologized, she would forgive without mentioning requisites. Others mentioned that somehow forgiveness has requisites in situations where life, livelihood was lost, forgiving those who cause of such loss would not come easy and restoration, justice meted out, compensation are some of the requisites of forgiveness.
2. Forgiveness is necessary because it is part of community and social life. It begets deeper understanding and cohesion of other members of an organization or community. People with religious faith can draw-out from their spiritual wells to practice forgiveness with justice, rather than just forgiving to maintain one's mental health and sanity. Forgiveness should be redemptive.
3. The saying "to err is human and to forgive is divine" is quite true in the practice of forgiveness with justice. A broader perspective of one's humanity and redemptive empathy shown in social relationships truly illustrate the tendency to err or commit mistakes and therefore the need for other people to give feedback and constructive criticism so that the erring person will be able to correct mistakes and will receive instruction and offer to him/her the new new ways of thinking and doing. This saying should not be construed as an easy way-out from carelessness or alibi to stubbornness in rectifying past actions.
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