I hope this find you well. We had a great lunch at the Perk and a fun ride Saturday. 8 people came for lunch with 7 going on the ride. The Burgers at the Perk were delicious, and the place was busy. I am SO glad I made a reservation! But in typical CSBA ride fashion, I made it for 7 and 8 showed up! But I digress...
We rode from Upper Bucks County (Perkasie) to Lower Bucks to the Garden of Reflection. The G.O.F. is a memorial to the 9/11 victims, especially the ones that lived in Bucks County. It's located in Lower Makefield Township, near Yardley, Pa. On the way down we had one missed turn and did some "off road" riding. When I'm leading the ride we're good for at least one U-turn! One rider commented that the "A" in CSBA should stand for "adventure". The roads were okay, no salt, but occasional potholes and cinders. We kept it a little slower than the usual pace but still put in 80 miles. Just enough to get the bikes and our bodies "broken in" for April's ride. After the The Garden of Reflection, three of us went North, two went West, and two went South. If I am remembering correctly there were two riders from Delaware, two from Chester county, one from Berks, Bucks, and Montgomery counties. We met some new friends and reconnected with some old ones. It was a good day. For those who couldn't make it, I hope you can come out April. There are some neat people I'd like you to meet and we'll have some cool roads, as well.
Scripture Readings for March 2010
The Scripture for this month is the Gospel of John 8:1-11 with a reference to Leviticus 20:10. The passage with explanation is below:John 8:1-11 (New International Version)
1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.
3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group
4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"
6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Leviticus 20:10 (New International Version)
10 " 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.
As we look at this passage we can see Jesus teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. It was most likely informal with Him seated on the steps outside and folk gathered around standing or sitting. The Religious leaders of the day pushed through the crowd and dump this woman in front of Jesus. The passage said she was "caught" in the act of adultery, she was guilty as could be, with no defense. She probably was barely clothed, unkempt, and beaten up by the time she reached Jesus. According to the law of Moses (see passage from the book of Leviticus), she was to be stoned. She most likely felt like this was the end for her. But if she was "caught" in the act, where was the guy? I guess the religious leaders weren't all that concerned with the Law, they just wanted to trap Jesus. Even though all this chaos is thrown into Jesus' lap, He doesn't answer them, He just writes in the dirt. Finally He realizes they won't leave without an answer, He simply says, "If anyone of you is without sin, you may throw the first stone". He then goes back to writing in the dirt. All of the accusers leave and Jesus, the woman, and the crowd remain. Jesus then asks the woman, "where are your accusers, who condemns you?" She says, "no one" and Jesus says, "Then neither do I condemn you, go and leave your life of sin".
What a powerful message of grace (unmerited favor) and mercy we have in this passage. It speaks to all of us, we are all guilty before God, sinners with no defense. But God in His mercy, through Christ, does not condemn us. We need to leave the life of sin we are in and follow Christ. That means acknowledging Jesus as the one who can save you from your sins and living for Him. The other thing this passage teaches us is when we point the finger in judgement, three fingers point back at us from our own hand. When we are confronted by the perfection of Christ, we are convicted of our sinfulness. May we all be merciful to those around us and seek after God. God's peace to you all this week.
