He Paused, to Write Something in the Dirt

Scripture:  John 8: 2-12 - And early in the morning, He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him, and He sat down and taught them.  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but, what sayest thou?  This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not.  So when they continued asking Him, He lifted Himself up, and said unto them, 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.'  And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, down to the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had lifted up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, 'Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?  She said, 'No man, Lord.' And Jesus said unto her, 'Neither do I condemn thee:  go, and sin no more.'  Then spake Jesus again unto them saying,'I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.'

There's Jesus, just having shared with others in the temple, there's his opposition, [some of the religious leadership], there's those moved to love Him, [including the disciples], there's a gathering of the curious, [the fans, the skeptics, and the cynics], there are the hopeful observers, there's the stone-readied agitators, likely a smattering of Roman patrolmen, the sympathetic friends and kin, the youth and children of the community, the daughter [of someone] 'caught' in adultery, and, of course, all of us readers, past and present. What comes next is a message twice written in dirt, by the One whose wish changed water to wine, and whose words continue to change the world.  What comes next is a living message of salvation, of justice, of mercy, and of righteousness.  What comes is an invitation to a lost daughter, and a reminder to an elder, the first to relinquish his stone.  And while we cannot know, above speculation, just what Jesus wrote, we can bet it applies to us all, being represented in some way, with that crowd, and its individual members.  

And maybe those, then, will reflect upon this moment as they later offer their 'Hosannas', or to ponder further as they lift up Jesus' name, or that of Barabbas, or to remember later on as Jesus, crucified, gives up the ghost, ending with the words, 'It is finished.' Maybe remembering this will give a different weight to hearing of one emptied tomb, that 'He is risen!'.
   
 Just maybe the point in not knowing what He wrote, was to let the Holy Spirit bring to us each, this moment's relevance, perhaps that we live right, or that we forgive, or that we favor reconciliation over judging, or perhaps that we honor our parents and our community.  Perhaps it is all about loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving 'the other' as we would love our own and ourselves.
Perhaps, it is just about reaching you and me.  That would be something, huhn?

He [God], does work, in mysterious ways.

Prayer:  Dear God, Savior, and Lord, bring my heart and mind to have clarity, within the implicit mystery this day holds for me, that I may do within it, as I ought, with confidence and with courage, that I might fit within that which You choose to bless, to be a part of the solution my nearby world awaits.  May my living out this moment, bring pleasure to You.
Amen, and Amen.
 
(by Dr. McNeal Brockington)