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Ganging Up on a Neighbor

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“Ganging Up on a Neighbor”

John 8:1-11 (8:7) – August 3, 2025

Have you ever watched a bunch of people gang up on one poor person? I’m thinking in elementary school, in the playground. Or, what about at the lunch table in high school? Even in the break room at work? A few mean words can turn nasty, fast! Sometimes if it goes too far, a group of people really start to pick on one poor person, or shun them, even ostracize them! And worst of all, the people doing the shunning can be such hypocrites!

Now we are entering the sketchy neighborhood of our Scripture reading for this morning. We have a group of Jewish leaders, big shots in their synagogues. You know what happened. These Jewish leaders have grabbed a woman in the very act of adultery. She may have been a married woman, and she was having sex with a man who was not her husband.  

The Rabbi Jesus has been talking with and discussing with groups of these leaders for some time. And, Jesus has been very successful at dialoging with these leaders, too! But, wait – they finally think they have got a situation that the Rabbi Jesus cannot squirm out of!

“Imagine the sense of urgency and the heightened emotions of the crowd swarming in on Jesus as he taught in the temple. They put this woman in front of the crowd. The Pharisees used her as an item, an object, a thing to entrap Jesus. I can imagine the contempt in the Pharisee’s voice as he asked, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. . . . Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’” [1]

Now, wait just a moment! The Jewish leaders have dragged this woman in front of Jesus, in front of the crowd in the Temple, and are accusing her, with baited breath! I can just see the crowd getting all agitated and upset! “Of course the Law of Moses tells us that adultery is bad! Of course this woman is guilty – our Jewish leaders say so! Of course she should be punished!” I can just hear the voices and noises of the crowd becoming more and more frantic and angry!

And, what does Jesus do? Nothing. He does not respond. He does not fly off the handle, as some people would. He does not react abruptly to the leaders or the crowd, either. Instead, Jesus stooped down and began writing on the ground with His finger. Finally, after the Jewish leaders kept badgering Him with questions, the Rabbi Jesus does respond.

Except, that makes me wonder. I know in our culture, in the United States, we do not stone people. Except, we still will ignore, and even jeer at people sometimes. We still practice shunning individuals in this country, sometimes.

These Jewish leaders and big shots at their synagogues seemed to have it all together. Except, these men were hypocrites, all the way! Saying one thing and doing another is the height of hypocrisy! I suspect these men – because the Jewish leaders were all men – these men felt fully justified in themselves. Fully self-righteous, and they couldn’t be bothered with pesky little things like their own repeated sin, or their conscience pricking them on the inside.

 I want each of us to understand how damaging it is to say one thing but do something totally different. “Do as I say, not as I do!” This is definitely the work of a hypocrite.

 “Hypocrisy creates barriers, harms relationships, and leads people away from God. In Matthew 23:27, Jesus calls out the Pharisees, saying, ‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones.’ The Pharisees focused on appearing holy, while ignoring God’s call to live with integrity and compassion.” [2]

The angry leaders who brought the woman to Jesus clearly were accusing and vicious towards the unnamed woman, and considered her simply a thing, an object of sin. I wonder whether they even considered the fact that this woman was a person of worth, or that she was created by God, just as much as each of them were? These were ways in which these leaders of the community could certainly live out God’s call to live each day with integrity and compassion – which the Rabbi Jesus did each day.

Jesus did not suddenly react or defend either Himself or the woman. Instead, He slowed down the frenetic emotion and action. Jesus reflected, and listened. Finally, Jesus made a comment. I imagine Him making that comment in a quiet but firm voice: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then, “those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.”

Our summer sermon series features Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. We have considered several serious narratives from the Gospels during this series, and this week is no exception. Fred Rogers was no stranger to serious matters. A number of his television shows discussed very serious things – to children, yes, but also to adults. Divorce, death, war, and even the terrorist activity in 2001, on 9/11.

Fred Rogers excelled at listening to people. “Reflective listening, which does not imply agreement, pauses your agenda and aims to understand first. Fred listened intently and often agreed with the children since he was tuned into their fears and frustrations. [One of Fred’s signature messages,] ‘I like you just the way you are’ can’t get any more validating – pure emotional gold.” [3]

When Jesus practiced reflective listening in this extremely emotional situation in the Temple, we can see how tuned in Jesus was to the crowd’s fears and frustrations. And then, He turned the situation around, even turned it on its head by stating to the accusers in a quiet but firm voice: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Jesus saw this woman as someone worthy of respect, a creation of God, unlike the men who accused her. Jesus’ words and actions offers this woman self-reflection and changed behavior at the realization of sin, just as He offered to the Jewish leaders and the crowds, multiple times throughout His ministry.  “Jesus’s actions were scandalous because they broadened acceptance, extended mercy and forgiveness to the undeserving, and brought justice to the overpowered and abused. Will the church ever do the same?” [4]

Yes, today’s Scripture reading is extremely serious. And yes, Jesus makes His offer of grace and mercy, forgiveness and compassion to this woman, to the Jewish leaders who accused her, to the crowd, and to each one of us today. We can live honest, compassionate lives, with kindness and humility, today.

Here’s a challenge: “try to pay close attention to any moments when you might feel yourself slipping into judgment or hypocrisy. Maybe it’s a small thought about someone’s behavior, or a reaction to something they said. When you notice this, take a step back and remind yourself that we aren’t perfect either. Instead of letting judgment grow, try saying a silent prayer—for that person and for yourself. Ask God to help you see them through His eyes, with compassion and understanding.” [5]

I know I often ask in my sermons “what would Jesus do?” Who would Jesus forgive?

This week, I am going to change up my question, and ask “what would Fred Rogers do?” Who would Fred listen to? Who would Fred call his neighbor? I think, everyone. Each and every person, no matter who. Go. Go, and do that.

Alleluia, amen.

(A big thank you to the online resources for Mr. Rogers Day – the Sunday nearest March 20th, Fred Rogers’ birthday. These resources come from the Presbyterian Church (USA). https://www.pcusastore.com/Content/Site119/Basics/13792MrRogersIG_00000154465.pdf )

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/four-important-lessons-we-can-learn-from-jesus-and-the-woman-in-john-8/

[2] https://young-catholics.com/14808/exploring-hypocrisy-free-lesson-plan/

[3] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-full-picture/202302/mister-rogers-remembered-since-we-need-him-now

[4] https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/four-important-lessons-we-can-learn-from-jesus-and-the-woman-in-john-8/

[5] https://young-catholics.com/14808/exploring-hypocrisy-free-lesson-plan/

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Anger and Insults

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Matthew 5:21-26 – February 12, 2017

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“Anger and Insults”

Have you ever met someone who flew off the handle about the least little thing? I mean, got angry at the drop of a hat? People get angry about all kinds of things. Big things, little things, serious things, even funny things. Like, getting cut off in traffic, or getting passed over for that promotion. Or what about when your shoelace snaps as you’re late for an appointment? What about other people, like when they spill juice all over the kitchen floor? Or when someone does something stupid and thoughtless at work? Doesn’t that just make your blood boil? Sometimes?

Anger happens to all of us, to all different kinds of people. Adults, teenagers, and children, not just once, or twice, but many more times than that. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus has some pointed words for anger and insults. Serious, too.

Let’s start where Jesus starts: the Law of Moses, and specifically, the big ten, or the Ten Commandments found in Exodus 20. That is one place Jesus refers to here in Matthew 5:21. “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’”

I am certain the people Jesus was talking to knew what the Law of Moses had to say about murder. Except—the Law of Moses did not say anything about getting angry. (Not in any of the 613 laws found in the Hebrew Scriptures.) What does Jesus say about getting angry?

Matthew 5:22—”But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”

Whoa! Those words are extremely serious! Jesus takes murder, on one hand, and compares it with anger. What is more, He says they are just as bad as each other!

If we take Jesus’s words as Gospel truth, we are in a sorry state. Everyone gets angry, sometimes. What are we to do?

Dr. Scott Hoezee has a paraphrase that packs a punch: “You haven’t stabbed anyone through the chest or shoved someone to his death off a cliff?  Good for you, but when in your anger you told Harold last week to go take a flying leap, in God’s eyes the ‘Do not murder’ command snapped quite cleanly in two in your life.” [1]

Jesus took the Law of Moses, from the Ten Commandments, and went beyond it. Far beyond it! He did not merely repeat the Law, like any of the scribes and teachers of that day did. Jesus transcended the Law of Moses.

How radical is that? I’ve said it before, and will say it again. Jesus was indeed a radical. He was subversive, never saying or doing what the established religious folks expected. Here, in this passage, Jesus was talking about the inside job, about how people felt on the inside—and how that translated to their outward actions.  

How did we start our service today? After the opening hymn, we had our children’s time, and I started talking about anger. Then—we had a prayer of confession. We confessed our anger, and asked God to forgive us when we get angry.

Let’s go one step further, and turn to another of the commentators, Karen Georgia Thompson: “The comparison is clear. Murder is serious and so is anger. There is a need in this first-century church to look at relationships and how individuals treat each other. There is a value to life and how we value the lives of others.” [2] Over and over again, Jesus talks about relationships, and how we are to act and speak in relationships. Here, Jesus goes one step further and even tells us how we are to think, in a way that will be pleasing to God.

Remember, relationships are more than one-dimensional. Sure, there are relationships on a horizontal level, between individuals, and even between groups of people. But Jesus is talking about the vertical relationship, too. The relationship between me and God, each individual and God. And, our joint relationship between all of us as a congregation and God. It’s quite a sobering thing, when we consider Jesus’s words in this light.

Eugene Peterson translates verse 22 as “Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire.” So, our angry words and thoughts towards others do great harm to our insides.

Jesus is serious when He refers to calling someone “stupid.” “He uses a term that calls into question the other person’s morality–it might be the equivalent of calling someone “a dirty rat,” someone you don’t trust for a second.” Another way of looking at it? Jesus is decrying our belittling of people’s mental powers and our belittling of their moral status. “Let your anger get the best of you in simmering grudge-bearing,” Jesus says, “and sooner or later you’ll start to denounce the people around you as stupid and immoral–as not worthy of your time.” [3]

That is not the kind of relationship Jesus wants us to have! Not with our neighbors, not with those in the church. Not with those in our community, and not with those on the other side of the state line, or the country’s border, or the ocean. What did Jesus say? Quoting from the Message again: “If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.”

We have been shocked, and warned. We are all scared down to our shoes by the words of Jesus. What is our next step? What does Jesus say? Jesus gives us some really valuable advice. Action steps, if you will. Jesus does say not to wait too long to do this! We can name the problem that makes us angry and figure out something to do about it.  The Gospel of Matthew says, “be reconciled” with the person who made you angry. That means work it out with them. Figure out how to solve the problem, or the quarrel, or the bad feelings between you. That is not easy. Frequently it helps to get advice or help from other people. [4]

I have known people who hold grudges for years, even decades. On the block where I grew up, two neighbors had a huge fight with each other. One of the neighbors was a sour old man who lived alone. He built a grudge fence, eight feet high, so he would not have to see his neighbor’s yard—less than six feet from his house. The grudge fence stood until he died.

This Gospel reading reaches right out of the Bible and shakes us up. We can even be interrupted in church. If we remember a grudge in the middle of a worship service, Jesus tells us to go, and make it right. Apologize, if we need to. (And, Jesus will help us.)

Right relationships come from the heart. Jesus doesn’t say this until later in the Gospel, but now is a great time to remember: Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. Which neighbor? The neighbor we are angry at. The family member we called “idiot.” Say we are sorry. Apologize. Then, God will truly be pleased with us, and with our worship.

Alleluia, amen!

[1] http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/epiphany-6a/?type=the_lectionary_gospel February 06, 2017 The Lectionary Gospel —  Matthew 5:21-37, Author: Scott Hoezee

 

[2] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_february_12_2017  “Heartfelt,” Karen Georgia Thompson, Sermon Seeds, 2017.

 

[3] http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/sermon-starters/epiphany-6a/?type=the_lectionary_gospel February 06, 2017 The Lectionary Gospel —  Matthew 5:21-37, Author: Scott Hoezee

[4] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2014/01/year-sixth-sunday-after-epiphany-sixth.html Worshiping with Children, Epiphany 6, Including children in the congregation’s worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2014. 2011.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2017: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!)