This is a sermon I preached at Bethel University Chapel during Lent in 2017.

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Watch the video by TWOTP “Known By Love”

http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/known-by-love

What are you known for?

If I were to ask your friends, enemies, and acquaintances who you are? What would they say?

Our body is made up of trillions of cells, there is something like 60 elements that exist inside of us. We have all these interconnected systems that transport oxygen, water, and blood. Most of us have the capacity to see, taste, feel, think. Our bodies function through the complexity of our muscles, tendons, and bones. We have brains, hearts, and lungs.

“The number of synapses and cells in our brains has been compared to the number of stars in the universe.” https://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/is-there-a-god/proof-of-god/wonders-of-the-human-body/

But yet we take this great complexity and dwindle it down to one or two words that somehow is supposed to encapsulate the entire essence of who we are?

We have perfected the art of taking a human being, a beautifully created, wonderfully made person and turn them into labels that express everything we need to know about a person.

We minimize people, dehumanize, we reduce people into bite size morsels of insignificance.

We choose to do this daily and we can typically narrow our labels down to four constructs: The color of someone’s’ skin, the shape of their body, their gender, and their failures. We so often, debase people into these four categories. Or, we go one step further and have our tribal/groupthink words. Terms that make us belittle someone even more than we already do.

We are so caught up in this way of life we actually believe that our ways of describing another person are helpful and useful when they are downright offensive and sinful. ie body shaming on social media or a saying like “Saturday is for the boys”. We celebrate failures (memes and SportsCenter not top 10). It’s one thing to laugh at ourselves; it’s another to shame people for their mistakes.

We’ve all been hurt by being labeled and yet, we all continue to do it.

In the scripture from John 8, we have a group of religious leaders known as Scribes and Pharisees. Scribes belonged to the sect of the Pharisees and known as the public teachers of the people. The Pharisees were one of the Jewish sects and keepers of the law and tradition. These teachers and keepers of the law “brought a woman caught in adultery and made her stand before all of them.”

Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

Jesus, bent down and began writing on the ground…obviously not the answer they were looking for so they continued to question him. Finally, Jesus rose up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

What was Jesus writing on the ground? Some have said Jesus starting writing out the sins of those who had gathered to stone the woman. Others have suggested he was drawing a line between her and them. Some say Jesus was inscribing the new commandment to love one another as I have loved. Some sight a passage in Jeremiah 17 and how Jesus fulfilled the prophecy that says, “Lord you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

Though these are interesting points to ponder the point here is what Jesus did not do and what we so often do.

What if your biggest mistake was broadcasted in front of everyone today? What if a secret you had been keeping from everyone was suddenly shared with the whole world. What if you were described to everyone here today by the mistakes you’ve made.

In the video earlier, we saw images of what many Christians are known for…a harsh rhetoric that stands on street corners and makes vile protests at soldier’s funerals. A judgmental, loveless Christianity that masquerades as evangelistic truth telling.

Many modern day self-proclaimed Christians pretend Christ sees the world through their eyes. That Christ loves who we love, and despises who we despise.

It’s interesting in a story where Jesus does not condemn a woman caught in adultery; we refer to this scripture passage as “the story about the woman caught in adultery.”

Why is the story labeled like this, shared like this, known this way? Shouldn’t it be remembered as the story where Jesus did not condemn or the story where Jesus stood up to those who wanted to condemn a woman. But it’s not, it’s do you know the story of the woman caught in adultery. For thousands of years, a woman Jesus did not condemn, has been described by the thing that Jesus did not condemn her for.

Known by a label, explained for centuries as a woman caught in adultery.

Jesus in numerous stories in scripture sees beyond known labels, sees more in people than what is said about them. Like our text from today, Jesus saw more in her, saw beyond the labels. He saw past the things that would condemn. He even saw through the labels of the scribes and Pharisees.

Yet here we are 2,000 years later and we can’t even talk about this story without describing it as the story of the woman caught in adultery.

John 13:34-35 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciple, if you love one another.”

Followers of Jesus are to be known by our love of one another. But yet we seem so well known not by our love but by how we judge.

The amazing crucified dead resurrected Christ sees our complexity, our beauty, our differences, he sees more in us than we can see in ourselves and he celebrates all His children. Christ never reduced or diminished another person. He was known and continues to be known for his love, mercy, and grace.

And yet so many of us, choose to describe each other and see one another by labels. We create characterizations of each other that create false narratives of who we are.

What’s the worst thing someone has said about you? What is the gossip about you? Think about it…

For many of us, when we think on this too long, we begin to believe this about ourselves. Some may even think they deserve to feel ashamed, guilty for what they are labeled. Some decide to just live into those descriptions.

But our lives can’t be reduced to our labels. We are so much more. You are so much more than what people say about you. When people take it upon themselves to share what they think about you when they pretend they know you and can speak untruths/falsehoods, to slander you. Know you are a precious, loved child of God and no one can take that away from you.

We can choose a better way. A better way to live together on this planet. We can choose to see more in people than their skin, the shape of their body, their gender, and their failures. We can choose when others try to reduce another person, when they try to dismiss them, bring them down, we can put a stop to it. We can choose a better way. When someone chooses to be racist, sexist, homophobic…we can stand in the way of that hatred. We can choose a better way. When someone is ridiculed because of the way they look or act, we can tell them they are fearfully and wonderfully made. We can choose a better way. When someone makes a vile comment or unsavory joke, we can tell a different story. We can choose a better way. This Lenten season, as we approach Easter. We need a resurrection. We need a resurrection of hope, peace, mercy, righteousness, love. We can choose a better way. Let’s choose a better way today.

If you would like to submit a sermon or devotion for the Ministry Toolbox contact Elinor Brown at esb@cumberland.org