A HEART FULL OF LOVE

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. . .  They said to him,  ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. . . . So what do you say?’ They said this to test him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground. . . But when they continued asking him, he said to them,  ‘Let the one who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.” John 8: 3-8

The Pharisees’ special focus was on strict observance of the Jewish Law.  Jesus’ heart, full of love, focused on making sure that each person knew of their goodness and worth in the eyes of God.  The Pharisees’ focus led them to see Jesus as a threat to their “special concern.” It blinded them from seeing him as their, and this woman’s, savior. It led them to devalue this woman, to “use” her to push their agenda forward; Jesus’ heart full of love led Him to recognize this woman’s plight and free her from her abusers and from her sins.

What is the “special concern” that colors my take on people? Is it a heart full of love, or something that moves my special cause forward?

We are the ones who have been baptized into Christ. We promise to strive to be the ones whose actions flow from a heart full of love. Let us gather this weekend confessing the times we have let our special interests direct our thoughts and actions. Let us commit ourselves to bringing Jesus’ heart full of love to the people we meet.

Sister Loretta