Scripture Focus: John 8.11
Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

From John: In rewriting this post from 2019, I was reminded of how much worse our culture’s polarization has become in just two years. There are many voices in culture and the political world, on the left and the right, who take only certain sins seriously. But Christ who died for sins, takes them all seriously.

Reflection: Taking Sin Seriously
By John Tillman

Some might summarize this passage like this: The Pharisees catch a woman in adultery but Jesus lets her go. Except that’s not what happened at all.

Jesus is kind and loving but is not a pushover who winks at adultery and doesn’t take sin seriously. 

To think this, one must ignore Christ’s words to the woman, and his actions in the remainder of the gospel of John. Jesus takes sin far more seriously than anyone in this entire scene. 

The Pharisees don’t take the law or sin seriously. If they did, the woman’s sexual partner would be present and under the same sentence. To them, the woman and God’s law are just props for their attack on Jesus.

To Jesus, however, sin is deadly serious business. It has to be. He came to die for sins.

“Go now and leave your life of sin,” is an unambiguous acknowledgment of the fact of the woman’s sin and an unmistakable command to repent. Christ does not condemn her, because he is taking her condemnation on himself.

Jesus is not a distributor of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer would describe as “cheap grace:”

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before.

Costly grace is…costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.

The true grace Jesus offers is costly. It is so costly that the wealthy, rich, powerful members of society drop their stones and walk away from it. They cannot bear the cost to their pride. It is so costly the lustful won’t look at it. It is too costly for them to give up their lusts.

Jesus doesn’t “let the woman go.” He sends her out. Jesus, instead of taking the woman’s life, redeems it. He buys it for his own.

When we see ourselves in this passage, we should not see ourselves as members of the crowd, shamed into forgiving the woman and dropping our stones. We should see ourselves as the shamed woman, freed and sent out to live anew.

We have been bought with a price and sent into the world, leaving our lives of sin.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Cry of the Church
O Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon me.
O Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon me.
O Lamb of God, that takes away the sins of the world, grant me your peace.

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis TickleToday’s Readings
Exodus 29 (Listen – 6:23)
John 8 (Listen – 7:33)

Read more about Three Armies of Sin :: Throwback Thursday
Sin has hemmed us in with three strong, mighty armies. The first is our own flesh, the second the world, the third the evil spirit… — Martin Luther

Read more about A Singular Plea In Prayer :: Throwback Thursday
Christ died for nobody but real sinners, those who feel that their sin is truly sin. — Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Scripture Focus: John 2.15
So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.

From John: In preparing/rewriting this repost from 2019, I was reminded that there are tables that need to be kicked over, not just in our individual lives but in our society, in our culture, and in our churches. May we let Jesus do so.

“There’s a love that’s still turning over tables
And a love making blinded eyes see
There’s a healing that’s waiting in the water
That’s still making saints out of rebels
My God is still making good trouble”

Music: “Good Trouble” written by Leigh Nash, Ruby Amanfu and Matt Maher

Reflection: Where is the Love?
By John Tillman

John’s account of the cleansing of the Temple is the most violent, showing Jesus making a weapon and wielding it. It’s probably why we don’t read it as often. It’s unsettling to see Jesus this way.

Jesus, the tender shepherd, whip in hand, panics the flocks and scatters them in chaos. Jesus the gentle carpenter, builder of tables and furniture, is kicking them over.

The detail of making the whip is important. Because Jesus takes the time to make a weapon we know he isn’t losing his temper or acting in rage. It is premeditated. He chose this fight and prepared for it.

In my acting work, I have often used a script analysis technique from Michael Shurtleff’s book Audition, in which one looks for the love in every scene. Even scenes of violence and tumult are better understood once you find the love and understand what the characters are fighting for.

The testimony of the disciples tells us there is zeal, passion, love. But it is still hard for us to find amidst the chaos. Where is the love in this scene? Who does Jesus love? Who or what is he fighting for?

We find a clue when Jesus answers the religious authorities’ challenge by predicting his own death and resurrection. How does his death and resurrection relate to the love in the scene? For whom is he dying and how is it connected to the Temple cleansing?

The Temple represented God’s connection, his relationship, with the people of Israel. If Jesus was fighting for you to be able to reach him, what obstacle would he have to kick over? What have you placed in the way?

In this same chapter, John tells us that Jesus knows people. He knows we are as untrustworthy as the religious leaders in this scene, yet, he sacrifices for us. He knows we will mess up the Temple, our relationship with him, again and again, but he will just keep coming back to fight for us. Why? Because of His passion. Because of His zeal. Because of His love for us.

During this Lenten season, allow Jesus to clean out your Temple courts. Ask Jesus what needs to change so that you can better connect with God. Are you willing to let him do it? Or will you challenge his authority as the religious leaders did?

Thank Jesus for caring enough about you to keep kicking over your tables and cleaning up your mess.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Small Verse
Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your heart.

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Exodus 23 (Listen – 4:44)
John 2 (Listen – 3:02)

This Weekend’s Readings
Exodus 24 (Listen – 2:48), John 3 (Listen – 4:41)
Exodus 25 (Listen – 4:20), John 4 (Listen – 6:37)

Read more about Setting a New Standard
Many scholars believe that Jesus cleansed the temple of buyers and sellers repeatedly—every time he visited Jerusalem.

Read more about Christ Our Temple, River, and City
Perhaps the temple Ezekiel sees is the same one Christ told the Pharisees could be destroyed and rebuilt in three days…Christ himself is our temple.

Scripture Focus: John 1.14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Anniversary of Covid Pandemic: One year ago today, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a worldwide pandemic. Some countries dealt well with the crisis, some failed to do so. As of March 7th (as I prep this post) 525,000 have died in the United States and 2.59 million worldwide. Approximately twenty percent of Covid deaths have been in the United States. The spiritual and emotional impact is real all across the world. Vaccines becoming available won’t change the trauma endured by those who lost loved ones or who served on the front lines. The Humanitarian Disaster Institute is hosting today, a free Spiritual First Aid Summit which aims to help churches and believers respond to the needs of their communities in times like this. We have been a sponsor of this summit and pray that many of you, our readers, and your churches will take advantage of the free resources and training available through the summit and through the Humanitarian Disaster Institute.

May God use us as his hands and feet to be with and care for those who have lost loved ones and those currently ill.

Reflection: Unity and Diversity—Worldwide Prayer

By John Tillman

Much of John’s gospel is concerned with unity. John holds a unity of purpose—that we may believe in the name of Jesus and have life in him. John describes the unity of the trinity—describing the interplay and relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. John also spends a large percentage of his writing (most of chapters 12-17) detailing the struggle Jesus underwent in the final hours before his arrest to prepare the disciples and bring them to unity.

Unity cannot be won in debates. Unity cannot be claimed by a victor. Unity cannot be seized as a weapon. (Although cries for unity often lead to armed conflict and suppression of dissent.)

Unity cannot be achieved by defeating others but by embracing them. Unity does not come by our cleverness, but by foolishly clinging solely to Christ and his cross.

As we pray this prayer from Germany that celebrates unity and diversity, may we look forward in our minds to these familiar passages in John. May we be one as Christ and the Father are one…

Unity and Diversity

A prayer of celebration from Germany

Lord, our God and Father, in Jesus Christ we pray. We are impressed by your power, by your greatness, by your excellence.

Your praises are heard in a multitude of languages which we cannot understand. But you hear all of them. We are shaped by different cultures and traditions. We express our thoughts and feelings in different ways. But you know exactly what each of us means.

You rejoice in the diversity which is your creation; you show your affection to each one of us according to our special needs.

Send your Holy Spirit to untangle your perplexity so that we can accept brothers and sisters whose expression of faith is different, because you created all of us in your own image.

Lord, creator of the universe, how amazing you are. We adore you; we exalt you.

*Prayer from Hallowed be Your Name: A collection of prayers from around the world, Dr. Tony Cupit, Editor.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
Jesus taught us, saying: “And the judgment is this: though the light has come into the world people have preferred darkness to the light because their deeds were evil…but whoever does the truth comes out into the light, so that what he isdoing may plainly appear as done in God.” — John 3.19, 21–

Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Exodus 22 (Listen – 4:23)
John 1 (Listen – 6:18)

Read more about Reflecting the Unity of Christ 
I thank you for the opportunity of worship with members of the worldwide Christian family, across barriers of every kind that separate people and keep them apart.

Read more about Lent is a Community Project
Lent is a community project we engage in as a partnership between us, the Holy Spirit, and Christ’s body, the Church.