“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle” (John 8:3). Why do they make her stand in the middle? Why not expose her on the periphery? The reason is something that affects us practically every day.
The center is what stabilizes a community’s identity. We humans tend to center ourselves around an accused and condemned victim — though we rarely admit it. This renews our fragile communities and our power as those who weaponize the accusation. This is effective because it is often a victim who represents something truly dangerous for the group. In this case, adultery stands for the breakdown of a community and those within it, because it forces questions like: who is my father? Whose child is this? Is this child one of us, or that of an outsider? The accusers place the adulteress in the center because their community, like most, is built around turning an enemy into a victim.
Once you understand this, you’ll see it almost anywhere humans group together (families, politics, workplaces, sports, schools, etc.). The good news is Jesus exposes this dynamic by deftly pointing out the sin-infected hearts of everyone besides the woman. They all leave, symbolizing the breakdown of the old order, and she is “left alone before him.” A new community has begun, structured around the merciful love of Christ.
What is in your center? What is in the center of our parish and family communities? Strive to center on Christ’s forgiveness, and we experience the new, lasting community we call the Church.
— Father John Muir ©LPi
General Mass Notes
-
Welcome
Posted the Friday before.
Mass Intentions
Posted the Friday before.
Universal Prayer (Petitions)
Posted the Friday before.
Announcements
Posted the Friday before.
