Monday, March 26, 2007
From AscensionNYC
Monday in the Fifth Week of Lent
Psalm 23
Susanna 1:9,15-29,34-62
John 8:1–11
The next day Susanna is brought to trial and sentenced to death for a crime she did not commit. She once again beseeches God for help and this time her prayer is answered through Daniel, a man in the crowd, who sees the truth of the situation. He calls the Israelites fools for not investigating the facts and orders everyone back to court. He then proceeds to outfox the elders by interrogating them separately and, through their own contradictory stories, exposes their deception. The people then "did to them what they had intended to do to Susanna — they put them to death." Susanna's honor and reputation were restored to her.
In this lurid melodrama of stalkers, sociopaths, dirty old men, sex, corruption in high places, an explosive courtroom scene, and a last-minute save from the gallows by a clever young man with plenty of street smarts, we have a story that, despite having taken place several thousand years ago, still resonates today. It could be on the evening newscast, or the material for a trashy best seller or x rated movie. But it seems less a story of divine intervention than a cautionary tale of survival and the moral imperative to be alert, pay attention, listen, challenge received opinions and, by all means, question authority.
In John 8:1-11 we see yet another woman accused of adultery and presented before a different judge — Jesus Himself.
Just as the two elders tried to trap Susanna, so do the Scribes and Pharisees seek to entrap Jesus, for political purposes, by presenting him with a no-win situation–stone the woman caught in adultery according to the law of Moses or jeopardize His own reputation and life. Jesus's approach is very different than Daniel's. In a moment of startling unexpectedness, Jesus responds to this challenge by silently bending down and writing with his finger on the ground (it would be fun to know what He actually wrote). His challengers persist to badger Him with questions. He stands and delivers the oft-quoted line "Let anyone among you who is without sin cast the first stone" and then, once again, bends down to write with his finger on the ground. The accusers, we are told, quietly back away, one by one, and retreat from the scene, until Jesus is alone with the woman. "Where are your accusers? " he asks her. "They have gone away." He tells her to go and to sin no more.
Jesus, the slyest of sly foxes, the master of mob psychology, first deflects the issue and then disperses his challengers with a challenge of His own — one that has continued to challenge down through the centuries. Humor is not that common throughout the gospels but in this instance the grin on the reader's face might possibly reflect the grin that was on Jesus's face. And the seriousness of the alleged crime? Like Susanna, what proof was there that a crime had been committed at all? It could quite possibly have been another trumped-up charge–a ruthless use of power against the powerless for the purpose of entrapment.
In Psalm 23 we have one of the great pieces of Biblical poetry. The thoughts of some mystic/poet penned several thousand years ago under circumstances impossible for our modern sensibilities to imagine, it comes flying towards us through the centuries–past wars, famine, and the rise and fall of empires–to unfold and land in our laps reminding us that if we only just trust to God then " all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
Susanna 1:9,15-29,34-62
John 8:1–11
The next day Susanna is brought to trial and sentenced to death for a crime she did not commit. She once again beseeches God for help and this time her prayer is answered through Daniel, a man in the crowd, who sees the truth of the situation. He calls the Israelites fools for not investigating the facts and orders everyone back to court. He then proceeds to outfox the elders by interrogating them separately and, through their own contradictory stories, exposes their deception. The people then "did to them what they had intended to do to Susanna — they put them to death." Susanna's honor and reputation were restored to her.
In this lurid melodrama of stalkers, sociopaths, dirty old men, sex, corruption in high places, an explosive courtroom scene, and a last-minute save from the gallows by a clever young man with plenty of street smarts, we have a story that, despite having taken place several thousand years ago, still resonates today. It could be on the evening newscast, or the material for a trashy best seller or x rated movie. But it seems less a story of divine intervention than a cautionary tale of survival and the moral imperative to be alert, pay attention, listen, challenge received opinions and, by all means, question authority.
In John 8:1-11 we see yet another woman accused of adultery and presented before a different judge — Jesus Himself.
Just as the two elders tried to trap Susanna, so do the Scribes and Pharisees seek to entrap Jesus, for political purposes, by presenting him with a no-win situation–stone the woman caught in adultery according to the law of Moses or jeopardize His own reputation and life. Jesus's approach is very different than Daniel's. In a moment of startling unexpectedness, Jesus responds to this challenge by silently bending down and writing with his finger on the ground (it would be fun to know what He actually wrote). His challengers persist to badger Him with questions. He stands and delivers the oft-quoted line "Let anyone among you who is without sin cast the first stone" and then, once again, bends down to write with his finger on the ground. The accusers, we are told, quietly back away, one by one, and retreat from the scene, until Jesus is alone with the woman. "Where are your accusers? " he asks her. "They have gone away." He tells her to go and to sin no more.
Jesus, the slyest of sly foxes, the master of mob psychology, first deflects the issue and then disperses his challengers with a challenge of His own — one that has continued to challenge down through the centuries. Humor is not that common throughout the gospels but in this instance the grin on the reader's face might possibly reflect the grin that was on Jesus's face. And the seriousness of the alleged crime? Like Susanna, what proof was there that a crime had been committed at all? It could quite possibly have been another trumped-up charge–a ruthless use of power against the powerless for the purpose of entrapment.
In Psalm 23 we have one of the great pieces of Biblical poetry. The thoughts of some mystic/poet penned several thousand years ago under circumstances impossible for our modern sensibilities to imagine, it comes flying towards us through the centuries–past wars, famine, and the rise and fall of empires–to unfold and land in our laps reminding us that if we only just trust to God then " all shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
Matthew Snow
