I love how Jesus just straight up ignores the accusers of the woman in our reading from John 8, who they say has been caught committing adultery. It’s a bold move, and not one we see often in any of the world’s scriptures: God or a sage shrugging and literally ignoring someone’s condemnation of another to their face. It’s a funny scene, imagining him just stooping down to doodle (or whatever) on the ground as is described, essentially saying that doodling deserves more attention than this crowd’s attempts to discredit and murder another while also trying to entrap Christ in the process. He’s not dismissing the woman but the destructive nature of the crowd’s intent. And further, when he does respond, it is to point out that not one of them is better than her, saying that he himself also does not condemn her. That being done, and with the crowd dispersed, he then points out that she too isn’t living her best life and that she should move past her own destructive tendencies. He goes full circle in the boldness of his approach, continuing to centre on mercy and peace but also our need to reform our living so that we also can find oneness in Being.
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