Do no harm Is 43:16-21; Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Phil 3:8-14; Jn 8:1-11 It is often noted that the story in John 8:1-11 does not seem to be original to this Gospel. It is found in other Gospel manuscripts, often in Luke, after 21:38. Indeed, it does seem to fit better in that location. However, its location in John sheds some light onto the story. The preceding chapter ends with Nicodemus asking a rhetorical question, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” (7:51). This provides us with a lens for reading the story placed at 8:1-11. Now, we already know to take the Gospels’ presentation of the scribes and Pharisees with a grain of salt. Our Gospel authors have historical contexts and agendas that affect how they present Jewish figures in their stories and often misrepresent them while doing so. We must bear this in mind as we explore the narrative. Our story begins with the author setting up the scribes and Pharisees to be the villains of the story. Christians have regularly interpreted this story as an anti-law story. The common understanding of Jesus’ response to the scribes and Pharisees is that he is condemning Torah law (Jn 8:6-8). However, Jesus is doing the opposite. There are a couple of things readers should know. First, Roman law did not allow execution for adultery. Second, the law to which the scribes and Pharisees refer seems to be a combination of Leviticus 20:10 (both adulterer and adulteress shall be “put to death”) and Deuteronomy 22: 23-24 (stoning). With this knowledge in mind, it seems the author is presenting the scribes and Pharisees as attempting to test Jesus’ faithfulness to the Torah. Will he uphold the Torah law and agree to stoning? Or will he abandon his loyalty to God and his people by following Roman law? Jesus does neither of these things. Instead, he allows the crowd to see the irony of the situation they have created. They are testing Jesus’ faithfulness to Torah law by being unfaithful to it themselves. The law in both Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:23-24 is very clear. Both participants in the act of adultery must be caught and both must receive the same punishment. The Gospel story is also very clear, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery.” (8:4). If she had been caught “in the very act,” then her partner in adultery was also there and should have been brought along with her. Readers may also hear Nicodemus’ words from the previous chapter echo in their minds, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing” (7:51). These details encourage readers to understand that it is not Jesus who has turned his back on Torah law. Jesus’ response to the situation is a bit mysterious. He bends down and begins writing on the ground. While this gesture is ambiguous, it may be an allusion to Jeremiah 17:13, which suggests that those who turn their back on God will be written on the earth (the text of Jeremiah is a bit muddled, but there is a clear connection to turning one’s back on God and being written in the earth). Jesus then calls them to cast their stones on the basis of their own behavior, and they slowly leave, one by one. They received the message. They had not acted according to Torah law any more than the alleged adulteress had. Today’s Gospel asks readers to reflect on moments when they may have lost sight of the bigger picture. Most of us have been in situations where we are so focused on getting that one thing we want that we hurt others in the process. Sometimes we do it knowingly, and sometimes we do not realize what we have done until it is too late. Once it happens, we cannot take it back. But we can grow more self-aware so that we avoid making similar mistakes again. We can imagine writing our own names in the ground, giving ourselves a chance to walk away from a situation before we do real harm.