I am alright – it’s all the others!
This was the ritual morning greeting I would receive from one of my Paramedic brothers. I would say: ‘Morning ,alright mate’, and this was always the reply. We were both managers in a challenging work environment surrounded in chaos. No day would go as planned, impossible directives would come to us to deal with, nothing would surprise us. Paramedics are a cynical bunch, we are used to dealing with life and death situations, so nothing would phase us. We would carry on regardless. We don’t have any problems it’s all the others that do! Of course, it was all meant in jest, but it reflected the situation. Things were chaotic around us so what could we do about it? It’s everyone else’s fault that we are in this mess. And it truly was a difficult time, but we made some good friends there and I keep in touch with many of them.
In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear that Jesus goes to the temple to teach. The scribes and Pharisees put Jesus to the test by asking Jesus in public to judge the woman who had committed adultery. They said to him that Moses had commanded them to stone such women. Jesus wrote something in the sand, perhaps he was just thinking and carefully considering his response, marking time – we should learn to do this before we react. Then Jesus comes out with a very clever response.
‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’
Then he goes back to doodling in the sand and says nothing more, patiently waits, says nothing more. And the accusers all leave because they know they are also sinners!
Then Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Women, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more’.
This really is a profound piece of teaching from Our Lord as we make our final preparations for the Holy Week and the festival of Easter.
I might be quick at blaming others for the chaos that is around me, but the common factor might be me! God is merciful, so ask for his mercy and ‘go, and from now on sin no more’.
With every blessing,
