This (story, poem, call it what you will) is based on the adulteress found in John 8:3-12. She bears the powerful story of someone who fell, but stood back up. I think we can all learn a lesson from her, regardless of where we've been and what we've done.
What I have written is fiction based on facts recorded in the Bible. You can read the real account in John 8, but this is my speculative interpretation of her story.
I
will never forget his tear streaked face;
My
husband,
As
he led the crowd
Of
my accusers.
As
they were dragging me,
A
filthy adulteress,
Unfit
to even lay eyes on,
I
wept.
I
was guilty.
They
were right to persecute me;
What’s
done is done
What
will be will be
I
knew it to the depths
Of
my profane, useless soul.
So
I let them lead me
To
my much deserved death.
The
sudden silence filled
My
now empty heart;
We
had arrived.
I
felt His gaze sweep over me
As
I heard their condemning words
But
I could not,
Would
not look up
Unworthy
filth that I was,
I
shouldn’t even be standing.
“Teacher,
this woman,”
Words
flung with disgust
“Has
been caught in the act of adultery”
From
the lips of my beloved,
Though
I was his no longer.
“The
Law of Moses commands us
To
stone such a woman.
What
say you?”
Spoken
with not just question,
But
mockery
As
if to test Him
When
we all knew the answer.
I
knew my fate.
Through
my tears of anguish,
As
I struggled to remain standing
I
saw movement on the ground
In
front of my own stooped figure.
What
was He doing?
Writing?
Berated
with questions
Holding
my fate in His hands,
Yet
scribbling in the dust?
I
leaned forward
Ever
so slightly
To
see what He wrote,
But
He stood up
And
I cowered back
Awaiting
the verbalization
Of
my premature death.
Sorrow
swept over me
As
He stood, about to speak
And
the men,
My
accusers,
Picked
up stones at their feet.
Tension
encrusted the air
And
the good Teacher spoke:
“Let
him who is without sin among you,
Be
the first to throw a stone at her.”
Silence.
Utter
silence.
Then
I heard a thud
The
first stone hitting my sinful flesh
Didn’t
they know the pain
That
I was already feeling?
I
am my beloved’s
But
my beloved is not mine.
I
hadn’t even felt their stone,
So
deep was my sorrow.
Then
I heard another,
But
still I felt nothing.
I
looked down at my body,
Still
standing,
Still
without blemish,
And
realized that the thuds
Were
that of stone on earth.
One
by one they dropped them,
One
by one they silently fled
Until
there were none.
Slowly,
I straightened
And
looked around me.
The
only One still there
Was
the good Teacher,
Bent
over and scribbling in the dust.
He
stood and looked at me
Straight
into my eyes
And
for a moment,
I
could not look away.
“Woman,
where are they?
“Has
no one condemned you?”
Regaining
some composure,
I
trained my gaze on the ground.
Despite
my lack of condemnation,
I
was still no better
Than
the very dust on which I stood.
“No
one, Lord,”
My
whispered reply
Barely
audible
As
I trembled
Not
knowing how he would punish me
Now
that we stood alone
On
a quiet street
“Neither
do I condemn you;”
Said
with such tender grace
“Go,
and sin no more.”
This
was all that was asked?
That
I go and live purely?
I
fell to my knees
With
my face to the dirt
How
did I get here?
Then
I heard him speak again
Addressing
those around Him
His
faithful followers
Hanging
on His every word.
He
said those who follow Him
Know
not the darkness around them.
The
very darkness
That
gripped my fragile soul.
That
had gripped it for so long
That
I had let rule me.
The
darkness
That
had been my demise.
And
great was my fall.
I
looked up in wonder
At
the stoic face
Eyes
encouraging, confirming,
And
as I stood to go
Remarkably
not dead
And
perhaps to live
For
the very first time
I
thought
Maybe
it’s true,
What
they say about Him.
Maybe
this Yeshua
This
Teacher, this Man,
Is
truly the Messiah
Here
to save not just me,
But
all of us.
So
I went,
And
I believed.
I
had found it.
The
One true source of Light.
I
would go.
I
would sin no more.
I
would live.
I would walk in the Light
As He is in the Light.
And I
would take back
What
the darkness had stolen.
