Standing Alone With Jesus
April 9, 2025
Fr. John Riccardo
Early in the morning [Jesus] arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more (John 8:1-11).
Caught in the act. Guilty as charged. Unlike Susanna’s accusers in the Old Testament this was not a made up charge. She is going to die. Violently. There is no escape. No way out. And she knows it. This courtyard and those fiendish faces will be the last things she will see before the rocks start to fly, the agony begins, and she loses consciousness.
Except it didn’t happen.
The accusers walked away, one by one, tossing the jagged rocks on the ground as they departed. Stones that were chosen and intended for her face instead are thrown aside and leave harmless impressions on the ground.
And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him.
“Where are your accusers? Is there no one here condemning you and intending to kill you?”
“No, sir. I don’t understand. They’ve all gone.”
“I don’t condemn you either. Go, and do not sin anymore.”
And with that, a woman who was destined to die a horrible death walks – no runs with joy– out of the courtyard and into new life.
All because of this Man. The Man didn’t defend an innocent victim. He stood up for a guilty person who justly deserved death. And they both knew it.
As it was with her, so it is now with you and me. Jesus is standing alone with us.
The scribes and Pharisees, while real, also represent in this scene the demonic hordes who hate us, constantly accuse us, and desire to violently destroy us. Diabolos doesn’t simply mean “divider.” It’s much more violent than that. It’s more like “the one who tears to shreds.” These fiends long to tear us to shreds, we who were created in God’s image and likeness but fell prey to their deception and surrendered ourselves into their hands when our first parents fell for their lie back in the garden.
As it was for the woman, so it is for us: there is no way out. We are going to die. Handed over to the ones who envy us, enslave us and want to kill us.
Only suddenly there’s a way out!
What is this way? How does this happen? Not by a mere word being uttered. Not by the wave of a magic wand. Not by some deus ex machina.
It happens because “out of love for the world, [Jesus] handed Himself over to death.” So said the Collect at Mass last Sunday. And not just, “He died for us.” He handed Himself over to Death. That is, He placed Himself into the hands of Death. He would go, alone, unarmed, into battle against Hell and its armies. He would willingly let the demonic hordes do their worst to Him, not knowing Who it was that they were abusing, not knowing that their killing Him would be the very undoing of Death. “If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8).
For me. For you.
We – the guilty, the enslaved, the foolish, the rebellious, the unfaithful, the creatures – go free and have life because He – the Innocent, the Lord, the King, the Creator, the Son – placed Himself into the hands of Death.
What kind of God is this? What kind of love is this? Who am I that my King should allow Himself to be torn to shreds when it is I who should be?
May these upcoming days be rich with wondrous bewilderment and grace filled confusion as we celebrate the mysteries of our redemption. Let us pray for the grace to be alone with Jesus – bruised, abused, defiled, torn to shreds, and gloriously Risen for us.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
April 2025
For Archbishop Edward Weisenburger, our new shepherd for the Archdiocese of Detroit. Please continue to pray for him and the entire archdiocese in this time of transition and his leadership in the years to come. St. Anne, pray for us.
For our Board of Directors meeting this month, that our time together would be a time of gratitude, fellowship and an opportunity to share with them what God is doing in the mission. Please pray for all our Board members, for they are a gift to us.
Please pray for all those who partner with us to help renew the human family of God, both in our country and across the world. May God richly bless those who both pray for us and financially support the mission.
Please pray for all those running The Rescue Project, that lives will be transformed so as to go out and to be agents of recreation in this world that God loves.
For God’s protection upon Fr. John Riccardo and the ACTS XXIX family.
