Mercy in the Dirt

In John, Chapter 8 , we find the story of Jesus and the adultress.  Basically, while Jesus is teaching in front of a group of people, a bunch of religious leaders try to trap him.  A woman has been caught in adultery, and according to Jewish law, should be stoned to death.  Jesus, as is his usual style, answers in a way that they didn't anticipate, showing how the law is fulfilled in love.

There are a few salient and well-known points that I will first touch upon before making mine, so please bear with me.

First, where's the dude?  The religious leaders tell Jesus "Moses commanded us to stone 'such women'".  Leviticus 20:10 clearly states both the adulterer and the adultress should be stoned, and if the woman was caught in the act, well, where is the dude??

The second point occurs after Jesus tells the adultress that no one condemns her.  Many people use this story to decry others' judgment of them or a point of view they don't want judged, but they stop the story after Jesus says "no one accuses you".  This story doesn't end with the dismissal of those trying to pass judgment.  It's about someone who was sinning, deserved death, and found life at the hands of Jesus, with instructions to stop sinning.

The big mystery is about Jesus.  What was he writing in the dirt?  I heard it mentioned that he might be jotting down the names of all the religious leaders' mistresses.  I would like to think he was writing something similar, perhaps some secret sins that there was no way anyone would know about.  John says they went away one at a time, starting with the oldest.  They didn't all just say ok, and go away immediately.  These were religious leaders, pompous and arrogant.  Who is this Jesus to tell us how to behave?  But as Jesus exposed their hypocrisy, they had two choices:  walk away, or stand with the adultress, ready to die in their sin.

They chose to walk away.  All of them.  How sad.  Jesus, the only one who was worthy to stone her to death,  shows love and mercy to the woman.  He also shows a great deal of love and mercy to those who accused the woman, too.  He could have proclaimed their sin to the crowd, and had them stoned, but he showed compassion to them as well, and allowed them to walk away.

Too often, I choose to walk away.  I have the source of mercy in front of me, but I let my shame and guilt get the best of me, and I walk away.  Or, perhaps, I walk away because I want to avoid the "go and sin no more" aspect of his teaching.  Fine, I won't judge her secret sin, just don't judge mine.  That's not really how grace works.  My best option is to desire his forgiveness, and to fall at his feet.  My sin is written there in the dirt.  How easy is it for Jesus to forgive sin?  As easy as running his hand through the dirt and erasing what he had written.  There were once words written in the dirt, but now there is nothing.  There was once sin in me, and now there is none!  Sometimes, very difficult for us to comprehend.  To accept.  But his forgiveness is there for the asking.  This time, don't walk away!

Rehearsing Life

     If you know me at all, you will have seen my recent obsession with the band Snarky Puppy on facebook.  I've been posting videos from youtube showcasing their recent (2013) cd/dvd entitled "Family Dinner".  Its an interesting project.  I'll quote an excerpt from the inside cover of their dvd set:

     "On Monday night, we had a stage full of instruments and no music prepared.  By Saturday evening, we had learned, arranged, rehearsed, performed, filmed, and recorded 19 songs by 11 different singers.  It was absolute insanity."  -  Michael League, director and bass player

     I first learned of Snarky Puppy when I was searching youtube for examples of individuals who could sing more than one note simultaneously.  I stumbled upon Lalah Hathaway's performance of "Something", contained in the aforementioned set.  I instantly fell in love with the band.  The sound.  The energy.  The attitude.  Not even knowing any details about the recording session, I knew this was something special.

     I ordered the dvd set as a birthday present from my son (Amazon gift card emails rock!).  I've watched it numerous times now.  I've checked out their website, read their bios, looked at tour dates.  When something good happens by, its normal to want to somehow be a part of it.  And honestly, I'm tired of a lot of the "music" I hear on the radio.  A lot of it I just don't like.  It lacks a groove, a feel, something I've gotten from the music in my younger days.  Now before you go crazy and throw a million examples of good modern music, please take note that I said "a lot" of the music.  It's not all bad.  I really enjoy some, but I need to feel it.  So back to the inside cover and Mr. League:

     "I love hearing human beings play music.  No quantization, no prerecorded tracks, no Autotune - just people (generally all in the same room together) making wonderful, imperfect noise.  I think that's why this band makes live albums - what you play is what you get."

     I knew it.  The first time I heard them, I could feel it.  And again, honestly, not everything they do floors me.  We all have stylistic nuances that agree, or don't.  It makes us human, and individuals.

     So what does any of this have to do with Life?

     I'm currently listening to the dvd, yet again.  It is the culmination of six days of relentless creative work.  To achieve this dvd, the solo artists, the band, and technical team had to come together and put in the time and effort to make it happen.  If you delve deeper, you will see that in order for a person to be involved in this project, they would have had to achieve a certain place in the music world, build skills and a reputation that stand out and are considered worthy.  To get to that point, they would have to spend an inordinate amount of time...  rehearsing. 

     So I have to look at my life and ask, "What am I rehearsing?"  We only get one shot at today, but each new day is the culmination of every day before it.  It may not seem special.  There are many days that don't.  But what I have rehearsed in the past forms todays' Decisions.  Attitudes.  Outlook.  Character.  Then I take those qualities and showcase them to the world.  I may not think I am, but consider this:  What band am I in?  With whom am I being relentlessly creative?  What product has been produced with my name attached?  My education, my job, my friends, my online persona...  they all speak not of the product, but of the quality of the rehearsal.

     What will I rehearse tonight?  Netflix?  Facebook?  Passive listening?  While those may have benefit (maybe look hard for it), what I do with my time defines me.  I will have big moments, no doubt about that.  But most of my time will be spent rehearsing, and from those rehearsals will come the product that is my life.