(Based on John 8:1-11)
She stood up from the ground, knees still shaking. She couldn’t
believe what had just happened. The angry mob had dispersed. She could not lift
her head to face anyone.
Mary quickly adjusted the cloth wrapped around her body, and
dashed away without looking back. She could feel the stares of the people in
the street…their mean whispers.
“Shouldn’t she be dead?” she heard someone say.
She had grown used to the stares of the people that seemed
to pierce through to her soul. Even though she wasn’t looking at them, she
could feel how cold and hateful their stares and words were. It was horrible
enough living among a people who wish you were dead. But on this day they
didn’t matter. Their voices faded in the distant part of her mind, overshadowed
by a new voice; a voice that had just turned her entire life around.
Mary kept walking, almost running, yearning to seek some
shelter somewhere so her mind could properly process what had just happened.
“Home-wrecker!” shouted someone.
The words just flew past her, harmless. She kept moving on.
Mary finally reached her house. She ran in and locked the
door, and then threw herself to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. All the
deep loathing she felt for herself and for the mean people around her, the
guilt, and the pain – she let it all flow out with the tears. Then she stood up and
walked towards the mirror on the wall. Her mascara had made black pools under
her eyes, make up all ruined and her hair was shabby and dusty. However, she was
intrigued by the image she saw in the mirror.
For a very long time, she had not had the courage to look
through her own eyes into the depths of her soul. She thought the filth in
there would be too much to handle. Her definition of herself was based on what
men had told her. Layers upon layers of makeup were aimed at making up for a
lost identity…a lady trapped beneath heaps of guilt.
But the words the Lord had said to her resonated loudly in
her head;
“I don’t condemn
you. Go and sin no more.”
‘What? Just like that?’ Those words had knocked off a heavy load that
was weighing down on her shoulders. They were the most freeing words she had
ever heard.
Mary grabbed a wet napkin and began wiping her face. It was
like removing thick dust off an obscured windscreen, finally allowing light
into the inside.
For the first time,
she saw her image through the mirror of grace.
Mary smiled wide. She immediately cleaned herself up and
wore a clean white dress. Then she went out, to feel the wind against her skin,
blowing her hair like the wings of a dove. All that mattered was what Jesus thought of
her.
Finally, she was
determined to be the virtuous, powerful lady she had always wanted to be – in
Grace. True freedom.
