Lent 2014
March 19, 2014

 Read Scripture: John 7:53—8:11

 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’—John 8:7-11 

This little story in a nut shell is rich with justice. It really does not matter what the “sin” was or who the “sinner” was. It is about the response of God’s people. The story is about the application of real-time justice. In this instance what is being pursued is swift and in keeping with the law.  What isn’t noted is the law applies to men as well as women. Where is the woman’s partner? We must be very careful when applying real-time justice as it does indeed need to be just. This has always been a challenge in our public schools and applying fair and equitable discipline should always be a top priority. 

But that is not what I want us to focus on today. Today, let us look at the other types of justice we are called to practice: Proactive and Restorative. Whether we recognize it or not, a primary goal of public education is providing proactive and restorative justice. Proactive justice looks at the repeated real-time justice issues, searches for their sources, and applies actions designed to prevent them from happening again. For example, I wonder if the woman in our story had been abandoned by her family and left to her own resources to survive. Or perhaps, she had been taught to take whatever she wanted and to have little regard for the consequences. 

Restorative justice looks at the scars that result from real-time justice issues and applies actions designed to mitigate them. What future did the woman in our story have, after such a public condemnation? Where could she go? Who would welcome her?  

Schools must deal not only with internal justice issues but, probably more likely, the justice issues that impact children at home, in their communities, and in the world in general. Schools invest a lot of time focusing on helping children avoid mistakes and learning from mistakes, whether theirs, someone else’s, or society’s. Teaching children these skills is excellent preparation for being a successful adult. 

Prayer: God of Justice, help us enable children to live through any injustice they may encounter and grow toward becoming the adults you created them to be. Amen.

The identities of students, families, or staff in stories that are shared in the devotions have been altered to protect their privacy. Any similarities between these stories and the experience of others are coincidental. No stories about students, families of students, or staff from Putnam Heights Elementary School are included in any of these devotions.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.