Jesus in the Gospel taken from John 8:1-11 is bending down and John writes that he looked up twice and says something. Firstly, to the Scribes and Pharisees, 'If there is one of you who has not sinned, let 'him' be the first to throw a stone at her.' Secondly, to the woman, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' (No one, sir'.) Neither do I condemn you, go away and do not sin anymore.' From the same vantage point Jesus has two very different intentions. One to challenge self righteousness and hypocrisy, the other to show compassion and forgiveness. And it is powerful that Christ shares his teaching from a lowly, humble position on the ground.
Perhaps today, if you close your eyes, you can imagine Christ looking up at you. If the truth be known we need to picture ourselves in the place of the Scribes and the Pharisees and of the woman.
Where have we wrongly judged someone and pointed the finger unjustly to avoid looking into our own hearts?
Where do we need to allow Christ's love and compassion to touch our vulnerability and heal our shame?
May we have the courage to hold his gaze to allow the power of his words to heal us.
Listen to 'You simply love' track 2 from 'Like a beautiful day.'
Blessings on your week.