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One of the terms we’ve all heard of over the last decade or so, perhaps the point of exhaustion, is so-called cancel culture. Wikipedia defines it as "a contemporary phrase used to refer to a form of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles - whether it be online, on social media, or in person." We have seen cancel culture employed in every aspect of life, applied to individuals and companies in response to words, opinions, or actions deemed offensive. Most often, the cancel movement happens online with social media and is the virtual version of a mob mentality with many people quickly jumping on the bandwagon to condemn someone or something, often without all the facts. In our time, we see cancel culture taking place in politics, entertainment, business, education, healthcare, and even within the Church.
While cancel culture seems to surround us because of the ease of worldwide communication, social media, and a 24-hr news cycle, it is nothing new. In today's Gospel we have a most serious form of cancel culture. "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" We can see the dilemma. We can almost hear the group snickering as they think, “We really got Jesus this time!” If Jesus takes the woman's side, they would accuse him of being soft on infidelity and dismissive of the Mosaic Law. So what does Jesus do? First, he writes something on the ground. There are many theories about what he wrote, perhaps it was the sins of the accusers. Maybe it was a word of hope and encouragement to the woman. Something like, “you are worth saving” or “The Lord is kind and merciful”. Whatever it was, it stung the consciences of the accusers. Perhaps Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of their outrage by asking why they brought him the woman but failed to detain the man who was with her. Both were supposed to receive the same punishment. In any case, Jesus responds with perfect line, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
They leave one by one, convicted by their pride, exposed in their hypocrisy. They might be able to fool others but they cannot fool the son of God. Jesus alone remains with the woman. He has every right to condemn her because he will die for her sins. But he chooses mercy. St. Augustine beautifully observes that when the scribes and pharisees left, "There remained only two, divine mercy and human misery." Pope Francis reflected on this scene in a letter he wrote for the year of mercy and said, "Once clothed in mercy, even if the inclination to sin remains, it is overcome by the love that makes it possible for her to look ahead and to live her life differently.” When we experience Jesus' mercy, we can move forward no matter what. We have the chance for a new beginning, not the cancellation and annihilation of sin.
At this point I think it’s important to add a word of caution about how Jesus’ actions are sometimes interpreted. Some preachers use his approach toward the sinful woman to suggest that more tolerance of sin is called for and none of us can judge the sin of another. But this is not what Jesus does. He does not ignore the sin or trivialize it. He does not say, “go back to what you were doing” or “it’s really not a big deal.” Jesus acknowledges her sin but he does not condemn her for it. He tells her to go and sin no more or something worse than stoning will befall her, the death of her soul. Jesus forgives her and tells her to stay away from sin moving forward because he loves her. And the same is true for you and me. If we see someone caught in sin, we should never condemn them but we should lovingly help them see their sin for what it is so they can receive God’s forgiveness and sin no more.
Today’s Gospel could also be called the Story of the People holding Stones. The scribes and pharisees thought they had righteous anger. They had the Law of Moses on their side. They had everything and everyone on their side justifying their actions. They had everything except love. They had everyone agreeing with them except the Lord. Like the Elder Brother of the Prodigal Son last week, their anger excluded them from the Banquet of the Father. They walked away from the Messiah rather than drop their outrage and hypocrisy. It was not righteous anger that was motivating them. It was hatred for Jesus and for God’s mercy. At the end of the story, the only person who calls Jesus ‘Lord’, is the sinful woman. The religious leaders walk away rather than accepting his teaching and following the Lord of life and goodness.
Like them, we often let hatred remove us from the presence of the Lord. We claim to have legitimate reasons to hate. We say we can justify our anger. We call for the cancellation of our enemies. We have been hurt. Someone whom we love very much has been attacked. Unless we let go of those stones we are holding, we cannot and will not stand before our loving, compassionate Lord. We have to let go and let God take control. The scribes and the pharisees refused to do this and walked away. How about us? Is our hatred more important than remaining in the presence of Divine Love? Do we accept God’s grace to conquer our anger or do we hold onto our grudges even tighter?
At times, we are the woman, caught in our sins. At times we feel overwhelmed by the weight of our wrongdoing. At times we feel surrounded by people who know what we have done and are sickened by it. At times we are so upset with ourselves that we cannot look others in the face. We are forced to look down. As we look at the ground we need to realize Jesus writes something in the dirt for us. It is the hand of Jesus, writing, “you are worth saving”, “The Lord is kind and merciful” We must ask for his mercy and then listen to His voice saying to us, “Go, and sin no more.”
Today we recognize that cancel culture in some form has always been with us and we see how Jesus responded to those who literally wanted to destroy the woman caught in adultery. Jesus enables us to look beyond the sin and love the sinner, whether that is ourselves or others. Cancel culture always dehumanizes people because it seeks to erase and forget a person who has done wrong. But we are more than our worst moment. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. That is why Jesus never gives up on us and God never cancels anyone. He tries, until the last moment of our lives, to bring us back and save us from our sins!
As we approach Holy Week, a good person to walk with is the woman rescued by Jesus. Our tradition teaches that she was one of the few people who stayed with him as hung on the cross. Saved from her sin, she never wanted to be separated from Him again. With her, we can pray the beautiful words of today’s Psalm, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
