Calling People In

The gospel from John 8 today will likely be a familiar one to many. It is commonly referred to as “the woman caught in adultery” where a woman is brought before Jesus is a public space allegedly “caught” by the religious leaders and they ask Jesus what should be done. Of course it’s a trap for Jesus, and the male religious leaders could seem to care less about this woman. She is just a pawn in their power games.

Like any other scripture passage, there’s a lot going on in this scene, and how we name it might take our attention to different things.

As I have mentioned before, it could be good to change the name of this passage to direct our attention elsewhere. What if we called it “When Jesus Took on Toxic Masculinity.’ Or maybe, “Jesus confronts men who abuse their power,” or “The woman who helped Jesus become a better ally,” or even, “Jesus calls everyone in.”

Each of these will highlight a new aspect of the story other than the woman and her alleged sexual sin.

Furthermore, we know that it “takes two to tango” and that only one party is being brought forward. Mosaic law actually stated that BOTH parties were to be stoned.   We also know from historical research that women who were sexually assaulted by a man could be “charged” with adultery.  So no matter what actually happened, Jesus knows from the start that this is a sham. And the fact that it’s all happening in public is meant to both catch Jesus AND send a message to everyone else who is watching about the power and authority of the male religious leaders.

Jesus, however, doesn’t play in to their power games. He draws in the sand for a minute and then comes up with an amazing response. He invites anyone who has not sinned to “cast the first stone.” Instead of using the tactics of the religious leaders – fear, shame, intimidation and power plays – he, instead, opts for something different.

Jesus is aware that shame and humiliation do not produce effective behavior change (I highly encourage you all to check out the work of Brenee Brown on shame if you haven’t already) and that the use of shame is detrimental for the one doing it as well as receiving it. And so he knows that a “new” pathway is required.

In our first reading from Isaiah 43, we are reminded that God is “doing something new…now it springs forth” and the writer asks, “do you not perceive it?”

A new way of engaging people – who may have done wrong or who may have even done harm – comes forth in this story. We notice that Jesus does not shame or criticize the woman. He does not shame or criticize the religious leaders. And neither does he shame or criticize the crowds for just standing by.

In modern language, we might say that Jesus was “calling people in” versus “calling people out.” He was trying to create a context in which everyone could reclaim a part of themselves that they had become separated from in the midst of this encounter.

That’s actually what “sin” is – it’s a form of separation. So if we’re going to heal from sins (personal or social), we need to find a way to bring what has been separated back together somehow.

Shaming, punishing and canceling others might make us feel good and bring about short-term change, but, ultimately, these are not the building blocks of authentic community.  The work of forgiveness and transforming relationships is difficult work and requires a lot from us – a lot more than shaming someone – and it necessitates new responses that are not always taught or practiced in our culture.

The great Elie Wiesel – who knew all too well the pain of shame and humiliation of the Nazi concentration camps – once said, “Never allow anyone to be humiliated in your presence.” I suspect that Jesus would agree.

For today, maybe we can examine our own responses to others as they arise in us. Maybe we can reflect on the times when we have felt the pain of shame and humiliation in our own lives. Maybe we can ask God in prayer to “call us in” so that we may become more whole and take that out into our world in a new way.