Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “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.”
Quote
"The one who could take away rash judgment from the world would take away from it a great part
of its sins and iniquities." - St. Francis de Sales
Reflection
OUR WEIRD OBSESSION WITH OTHER’S FAULTS
Let’s face it. You and I have an odd and ugly tendency to be fascinated with each other’s faults. We love to scroll through Instagram, TikTok, and the countless YouTube compilations of “Unhinged Karens”, celebrity failures, and uncomfortable mistakes average people make without knowing they were being recorded.
We also tend to love cancel culture. We love rallying against someone for the mistakes and sins that they have committed (no matter how long ago they were). We are tantalized by the comment section underneath a news article about a “canceled” celebrity or politician. It’s juicy, addicting, and pleasurable.
Now, what if that person in those videos, TikToks, tweets, and comment section mentions was you or I? Viral amounts of people seeking to gawk at our greatest sins, our worst mistakes. Our shame is under a microscope for the world to see and everyone has the chance to tell us how wrong, disgusting, or misguided we are. Their cancellation of you is your condemnation.
As Christians, who do we want to be?... The pharisaical media? The hypocritical viewer? The comment troll? In some way, shape, or form, we are all already the woman caught in adultery.
Yet, if we want it, we can direct our intention to live Jesus and say to our culture, “Where are they (those comment trolls, those sub-tweeters, those “Pharisees”)? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on, do not sin anymore.”
Mr. Jonathan Dick, OSFS
