He was never cranky or sanctimonious or rigid.
He served up his very life and soothed us right through the cross, lifting us to the stature of forgiven even as our sin murdered him.
In John 8, we meet the woman caught in the act of adultery (a sin worthy of stoning in those days) as she was brought before Jesus.
Interestingly, we read that she was actually the pawn in a much larger game:
[The religion scholars and Pharisees who led in this woman] were trying to trap [Jesus] into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.So the religious right humiliates a woman, using her wrong to try and (wrongfully) charge...God.
I never tire of pondering Jesus' response. In the face of badgering as he paused to kneel and write in the dirt, he stood up slowly and said:
The sinless among you go first: throw the stone.Was his pause to show the relentless true motive of the religious right? They weren't going to stop until he drew a line in the sand.
Jesus' level of service must have taken them by surprise. He served the religious right with a chance to display their perceived perfection which of course, in light of truth, crumbled. He served the woman with a loving chance at forgiveness and a fresh start. Soothing toward both, but targeted and precise.
What if we could be genuinely soothing toward each other? What if we helped each other unravel the tangles of life, giving and receiving, forgiving and loving each other, simply seeing each other as fellow sojourners, each worthy of the work it takes to be soothing?
That would take a lot of Jesus motive and a lot of time to ponder. Fuel to be soothing in our service does not come easily.
I better get busy.
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