Peace In Times of Anxiety

The world we are living in is full of unknowns, things that are happening outside of our understanding and control. This is playing itself out currently as we adjust to new ways of living alongside Covid-19 as it makes its presence felt again in Aōtearoa. Just when we thought it was safe to go outside, here we are in Tāmaki Makaurau, locked down again. We are re-learning what it means to be flexible and to consider the other, which in our case is our team of 5 million.

I’m not afraid, but I am disorientated. I have to say I had become a bit settled again and let my guard down, thinking that I would be safe in my bubble even though I expected that at some point it might burst...

Disorientation can increase a sense of anxiety, so I’m trying to lean into peace in all the places I find it….wherever they may be. For wherever peace can be found, God is there.

John 4 v 8 tells the story of the ‘Woman caught in Adultery’. It’s about a woman who was dragged from her bed (and her partner in crime) who were ‘caught in the act’. Every bit of the story smells of a set up, not least the fact that the man was nowhere to be seen as she was hauled before a crowd of Jewish Teachers and Pharisees and humiliated.

The test was to highlight the ‘invalidity’ of Jesus as a bonafide teacher, and so he was questioned as to what should be done with her because the Law of Moses pronounced death by stoning for such an offence. Unfortunately for them Jesus knew the Law of Moses better than they did (although perhaps they just decided to cut and paste the text and hope for the best that he didn’t notice).

He knew firstly that Jewish Teachers had no authority to pronounce judgement, because these were the days of Roman rule and only a Roman Governor could execute sentence. So he remained silent.

Secondly he knew that if he were to pronounce judgement, that the Jewish Teachers would be able to claim him as being a false Teacher by not adhering to Roman rule. So he remained silent.

And finally, he knew what the law of Moses actually said, that both of the married parties that were caught in the act of adultery should be stoned. So he remained silent.

And rather than answering their questions he wrote in the sand, no one knows exactly what but it was common for a priest to write the names of those accused in dust or sand on the temple floor, and he knew that. So he wrote, twice, and as he wrote her accusers began to peel away, one by one until no-one was left pointing a finger at her.

His response to the woman (I wonder what her name was), was to extend mercy not judgement and he encouraged her to go freely and to make better choices with her life. He re-clothed her in dignity and restored her to peace.

It must have been an incredibly anxiety-inducing society for women living in that time (as it still is in many societies in our time). Women were under the care and protection of either their fathers or husbands and if they had neither, they had to fend for themselves. Society would not look after them, it was dangerous to be a woman.

This barbaric law which we read about in the book of Deuteronomy is written as part of the cultural code of the people who wrote our sacred text. Jesus came along and began to turn everything upside down, to show us how to treat each other, even those who sin against us, in a kinder and more humane way.

Jesus also knew that we would be exposed to situations in life that create fear in us and extended us an offer of peace in the midst of our anxiety. Will our anxieties suddenly just ‘disappear’ from our lives? Or will we be able (even temporarily) to dislodge them from the places they invade that cause us to lose our sense of peace.

I suggest, as I did earlier that we find our way into experiences of peace, just like this woman did in her encounter with Jesus. Wherever peace can be found, God is there.