Caught in His Gaze of Love

The three different ways the woman caught in adultery was treated caught my attention as I prayed with today’s Gospel (Jn 8: 1-11).  The man she was with, as well as the scribes and Pharisees, all failed to honor her dignity as a daughter of God.  It would take a tender encounter with Jesus to restore her dignity and identity as beloved, and it’s an invitation that Jesus extends to us particularly at every Mass.

We know least about the man she was caught with, yet it’s enough to know that their relationship is not one of love. They each objectified and used the other. The scribes and Pharisees also overlook her humanity by measuring her worth by how she upholds the law.  In doing so, they all reinforce the voice of shame and identify her not by name but by sin.  I wonder if the woman had ever known anything different.

I imagine the woman standing there, looking down and avoiding the eyes of her accusers to protect herself against their condemning looks and remarks.  What was the journey to the temple like? Was she even given time to get dressed?  Had sin hardened her heart so much so that this didn’t even faze her?  Or was she distraught and remorseful?  I can only imagine the state she was in.

As she stands there, the Pharisees try to test Jesus.  In His usual fashion, Jesus responds uniquely.  Jesus bends down and writes on the ground. We don’t know what He writes (although scholars have some guesses), but we know the effects of His words both written and spoken. 

The men soon leave and Jesus is alone with the woman.  He bends down a second time and writes on the ground. I have heard it said that the woman is looking down because she’s ashamed, so Jesus bends down so she doesn’t miss His gaze of love. His gaze sees her exactly as she is, and who she was created to be. His gaze could reorient her self-perception and compel her to change her ways.  She could now stop looking for ways to be loved, and simply be beloved.

Does Jesus not also encounter us this way in the Eucharist?  Bending down to patens and becoming so small to meet us in our human frailty? To allow us to gaze on Love Himself?  Even in a full church, we are left alone with Jesus in those sweet moments after receiving Him in Holy Communion as He speaks words of love to our hearts that only we know. And like the woman, we can accept this gift, allow it to change us, and go share it with others.