Adultery and Chicken

There was a woman who committed adultery.  Wait a minute, it was worse than that, she was caught while committing the very act of adultery and brought by a bunch of men (who obviously did not commit adultery) to stand in front of Jesus.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, 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. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”   John 8: 3-11

Wow.  I thought it was over for her.  I thought Jesus was going to lower the boom on this tramp.  Adultery is wrong.  It is in the top ten sins and she is going to hell.  Good riddance...but what did he do instead?  No punishment?  She is Forgiven?  No condemnation?  Is he serious?  Jesus...Look...this isn't right.  If you don't punish her, society will suffer.  The institution of marriage will fall apart and our kids will think it is okay to act that way.  America...I mean, Israel, will be doomed.   I know it is strange that the man who was complicit with the act of adultery was not brought with her.  But, Jesus, a rule is a rule...put her to death.

"But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart."  Jesus in Matthew 5:28

Uh oh.  Seriously Jesus?  That seems to include me and all my friends with Cinemax or who watch women's beach volleyball.  We also are adulterers who are in need of forgiveness?  This is getting tricky because some adulterers in the classic way "go and sin no more" but us lustful adulterers sometimes don't have our cable disconnected or stop going to the beach where it is tough not to sneak a peak.  You see the "lust in their heart" type adulterers may not really be repentant at all.  Maybe they just feel guilty but keep on lusting forever.  (A side note here is that FOX news who is a big supporter of all things pro-family is part of Fox television that carries some of the trashiest television around for those trying to kick the old lust habit.)

This is where we turn to Chick-Fil-A.  Hypocrisy.  It seems that Christians are supporting Chick-Fil-A in droves because the owner donated to organizations that support "traditional" marriage.  You know the kind of marriage where you can commit adultery or be on your 4th marriage or lust in your heart as long as you are both different genders.  However, the owner also donated to hate groups like The Family Research Council.  The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated The Family Research Council as a "hate group" because of comments from its leaders like:

• “One of the primary goals of the homosexual rights movement is to abolish all age of consent laws and to eventually recognize pedophiles as the ‘prophets’ of a new sexual order.”
  -1999 FRC pamphlet, Homosexual Activists Work to Normalize Sex with Boys
• “Now, back in the 80′s and early 90′s I worked with the state department in anti-terrorism and we trained about fifty different countries in defending against terrorism, and it’s, at its base, what terrorism is, it’s a strike against the general populace simply to spread fear and intimidation so that they can disrupt and destabilize the system of government. That’s what the homosexuals are doing here to the legal system.” -FRC President Tony Perkins, April 2011
• “While activists like to claim that pedophilia is a completely distinct orientation from homosexuality, evidence shows a disproportionate overlap between the two. … It is a homosexual problem.”  -FRC President Tony Perkins, FRC website, 2010

That is who Chick-Fil-A supported.  That is hate.

Jesus demanded that we be very careful in how we treat others who we think may be sinners:

Matthew 7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Is homosexuality a sin?  Are Adultery, lusting, gluttony and materialism sins?  Is Divorce?  Is hate?

Those of us with planks in our eyes might want to work on removing them on our lunch break instead of waiting in line to support a restuarant that supports hate.


By the way, Jesus demanded we do on other thing.  Love others.  How do you think my gay and lesbian friends feel today about Christians and how some spend their time, money and energy.  My efforts to show the love of Jesus my dear friends who I love has suffered greatly because my Savior (described as a friend of "tax collectors and other sinners") has been used as a reason to support hate.  


I must confess one more sin....my sin.  I have been very angry this week.  Angry at my Christians brothers and sisters.  That is a sin and I need to deal with it in a serious way.  Pray for me, pray for everyone who is on both sides of this debate.  Pray for love and not hate to be what all Christians are known for.  So that all who hear the Good News will draw near to the one who said of himself:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11

  
I finish with this with a post from a pastor in Florida who blogs here:

The Chick Fil’A war does not reflect love. In fact, it reflects just the opposite. We continue to tear each other apart over an issue that Jesus never spoke a single word about. And while we fight, a hurting, broken world walks away and looks elsewhere for the hope and grace that they desperately long for, and that can only be found in Jesus.

The message of the Savior is love. Love regardless of whether we think the person(s) are right or wrong. Just love. Let God do what God does. We do not have a mandate from our Lord to try and change anyone. The marching orders of the King are not, “deny yourself, take up your cross and make sure everyone believes the same things you believe.” We are called to “follow him.” Follow the one who forgave, the one who blessed, the one who comforted, the one who broke all of the cultural and religious rules of the day to ensure that broken, hurting people experienced the grace and love that God offers.

Amen and Amen.