If Jesus had consented that the woman should be stoned to death, it would have conflicted with his teaching on love, mercy, and forgiveness, and he would have lost his reputation as a friend of sinners.
Jesus showed us another way of avoiding conflict with the ignorant – hold onto your knowledge and play along with them.
Often, ignorance or poor understanding of the law causes conflict because the implementation of a law by an authority could be misjudged as victimisation, and another party’s interpretation of a law could be misconstrued as discrimination.
If Jesus had condemned Martha, it would have meant that Jesus loved Mary more. With Martha being the elder sister, it might not have augured well between the two sisters.
Since Jesus’ kingdom was not of this world and he was not officially part of the rabbinical institutions, he was not competent to judge in the rabbinical courts.
There is a need for prudence in dealing with conflicts inherited from our parents and conflicts in which we are the third party.
The greatest threat to peace is ego, not because we cannot suppress our ego, but because ego is connected to our identity
For all challenges that have emerged or will still emerge in the Church, the examples of how Christ acted and his words and principles remain a guiding light.
If we think we are powerful as pastors, let’s remember that people can confront us if their endurance level reaches its limit.
Any weaponisation of the sacrament that Christ freely entrusted to us for the sanctification of his people goes against the mind of Christ and the mission of the Church.
