The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to avoid rushing to judgement and to seek wisdom that may reveal hidden motives and false assumptions.
Good changes on the waterfront?
The reading from the Book of Daniel tells how Daniel rescues Susanna from false accusations.
* [13:1–14:42] The short stories in these two chapters exist now only in Greek and other translations, but probably were first composed in Hebrew or Aramaic. They were never part of the Hebrew-Aramaic Book of Daniel, or of the Hebrew Bible. They are excluded from the Protestant canon of Scripture, but the Catholic Church has always included them among the inspired writings; they existed in the Septuagint, which was used as its Bible by the early church.1
Psalm 23 praises the Divine Shepherd.
* [Psalm 23] God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).2
In the Gospel of John, Jesus cares for the woman caught in adultery.
* [7:53–8:11] The story of the woman caught in adultery is a later insertion here, missing from all early Greek manuscripts. A Western text-type insertion, attested mainly in Old Latin translations, it is found in different places in different manuscripts: here, or after Jn 7:36 or at the end of this gospel, or after Lk 21:38, or at the end of that gospel. There are many non-Johannine features in the language, and there are also many doubtful readings within the passage. The style and motifs are similar to those of Luke, and it fits better with the general situation at the end of Lk 21: but it was probably inserted here because of the allusion to Jer 17:13 (cf. note on Jn 8:6) and the statement, “I do not judge anyone,” in Jn 8:15. The Catholic Church accepts this passage as canonical scripture.3
Amy Hoover comments that we all have experience of feeling powerless, some more than others. And we could even and should contemplate how we all hold power over others. But the invitation of these stories is to be the one who brings light, healing and compassion. She asks: How are we called to bring light, healing, compassion and wisdom into our encounters this day? How are we called to do the same into the larger world? Where can we empower the powerless?
Daniel does this by first listening to the voice within himself that said something is wrong here. “God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel . . .” He listened to his interior voice and spoke up. He was courageous and acted and argued for Susanna. He advocated for her when she could not speak for herself. Similarly, Jesus advocated for the woman. First he saw the woman as a human being with dignity. I imagine him looking into her eyes, truly seeing her, understanding her with just one gaze. As he assessed the situation, he responded to being challenged and the threat of violence not with violence but wisdom and finesse.4
Don Schwager quotes “Aided by Christ's grace,” by Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"No one of us does anything good unless aided by Christ's grace. What we do badly comes from ourselves; what we do well, we do with the help of God. Therefore, let us give thanks to God who made it possible. And when we do well, let us not insult anyone who does not act in the same way. Let us not extol ourselves above such a person." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 93,15)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 8:1-11 notes Jesus has the last word, and it surprises everyone. He challenges her accusers’ motives. He refuses to condemn the guilty woman. Instead, he forgives her and offers her the grace to start anew. That’s what he has come to do.
Imagining yourself in the midst of the commotion, wait quietly as Jesus writes on the ground. Watch as he lifts his head and looks into your eyes. What life-giving word is he speaking to you today? “Jesus, help me see myself with the eyes of love that you turn upon me in this moment.”6
Friar Jude Winkler notes the wisdom inspired in Daniel to discern the lies of the accusers of Susanna. Chapters 13 and 14 of Daniel only appear in the Greek translation. The insertion of the woman in adultery in John was likely by a later scribe. Friar Jude notes that time to allow anger to diminish was a technique used by Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, hopes we can sympathize with the people of Israel who so often rejected their prophets. It’s scary whenever we’re offered a new synthesis or paradigm, especially for those who are heavily invested in the old. Opposition will rise, just as it rose around Jesus. People inside the status quo usually have much to lose. They don’t necessarily have ill will; it’s just that they’re living in the only world they’ve ever imagined. Perhaps his favorite understanding of prophets is that they’re lovers of spiritual freedom who keep humanity free for God and God free for humanity. It is harder than we think.
The prophets are disrupters of the social consensus. What everybody is saying, whatever the glib agreement is, prophets say, “it’s not true.” They do this primarily by exposing and toppling what the Hebrew Scriptures called idols, things that are made absolute that are not absolute. The tendency of religion is to absolutize. I’m sure it comes from a deep psychological need for some solid ground to stand on, but the prophets remind us that God is the only absolute. And don’t try to make the institutions of God absolutes either! Jeremiah said, “The Temple, the Temple, the Temple, don’t you get tired of talking about the Temple?” (see Jeremiah 7:4) This was a good Jewish man who surely loved the Temple but recognized that it, too, had become an idol.7
The wisdom that comes from seeking the inspiration of the Spirit in the silence of patient waiting helps clarify motives in conflict and bring peace to the situation.
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