Today's sermon on the woman caught out in adultery ranged over quite a lot of stuff... the gender inequality/injustice enshrined in holy writ, the fact that I cannot imagine anyone ever sets out to commit adultery, that all of us is vulnerable to adulteries whether sexual or otherwise, that it needs opportunity, invitation/initiation and consent. I even noted that the woman was freed whilst the man was left with his guilty secrets - so did he really get away with it?

The new thing for me was when it struck me that "go and sin no more" was not a finger-wagging "you got away with it this time but..."  No, if we recognise that 'sin' means 'falling short of a target' rather than 'wilfully choosing the wrong thing' then it may better be heard as, "you deserve something so much better than this cheap, tawdry imitation of love" or "this falls way short of what God wants for you" or maybe even "don't settle for second best".

If we can hear it like that - that "all have sinned and fallen short" is not about being bad but about being fallible and finite, is about missing out on the best because we settle for less - then it becomes less harsh and more like our own experience.  Whatever it may be, in our own place of sin/failure, embarrassment/exposure Jesus refuses to condemn us and says "you're worth so much more than this, put it behind you and live the life you deserve".

I had a good morning, I hope others found it helpful/interesting/challenging/comforting or whatever was needful.