Creation: The Persecuted, Adulterous Woman
by Sybille Ngo Nyeck

Every eye should see, every knee should bow and confess her innocence.

"Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives; and early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they said unto him, 'Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?' This they said, tempting him, that they may have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, 'He that is without sins among you let him first cast a stone at her.' And again, he stooped down, and wrote on the ground and they which heard it were convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one beginning with the elders, even unto the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the women who had been standing in their midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, 'Woman where are thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?' She said, 'No man, Lord.' And Jesus said unto her, 'Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.'" (John 8:1-11, King James Version)

The "adulterous woman" story seems to be a paragraph in the unwritten book of life where the sentences have been made invisible but not meaningless. The very act of adultery is invisible in this story.

This is perhaps the most astonishing story never recorded by an evangelist. Among the gospels, John is the only one who wrote about the story of the unnamed woman caught in adultery. The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53; 8:1-11. Some other manuscripts situated this passage at the end of the gospel of John where we read from the last verse, "There are also many other things which Jesus did... if they should be written every one... even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written." And indeed, the "adulterous woman" story seems to be a paragraph in the unwritten book of life where the sentences have been made invisible but not meaningless. The very act of adultery is invisible in this story. The witnesses are also invisible of the woman's sin, but still there is an accusation as well as a prisoner.

Instead of being at the end of the gospel, I truly appreciate where John placed this event. John (chapter 7) tells us about the Pharisees' attempts to stop Jesus work. They hoped to find in his preaching a motive to kill him. The soldiers sent to apprehend him were convicted of his innocence and went back to their superiors empty-handed. Even though the clergy were still persistent in their unbelieving, it was widely known that Jesus' message found followers among the poor and the illiterate. If the soldiers couldn't take Jesus because "his hour was not yet come," they found it easier to deal with somebody whose social, political and religious statutes were exposed to all kinds of harassment at any time.

So they brought a woman to the preacher and said: What will you do? But why question Jesus if they already had a law? The first answer is that they were setting a trap. I also think that they came to Jesus because they lacked proof of their allegations. Her companion in adultery was absent from the court. But the most striking thing here is the absence of the husband. For the story suggests that she was married; otherwise, her sin as a single woman going out with a married man would not have raised a general outcry against her.

Here is an open field for speculation. I would like to speculate that she was probably the most faithful woman in Israel. Maybe she refused to go out with some of her accusers, and was a victim of a campaign of denigration by those who were rejected by her. The very fact that she was released stands for her innocence. Jesus never humiliated a sinner, neither did he called a sinner righteous.

I love the way Muslims kiss the earth in their prayers; drawing sustenance from her... Many conflicts are born from our refusal to embrace our original Nature.

Surrounded by an excited crowd pushing in and asking for an answer, Jesus bent. Yes, he bent down! He knelt down as "if he heard them not," says John. Was Jesus dumb? No. But it is because he heard them perfectly that he bent down. Jesus was not trying to avoid the question, nor was he giving a gymnastics lesson. This is a preacher, a prophet, a man appointed to be a judge who made the earth his throne and his law. I love the way Muslims kiss the earth in their prayers; drawing sustenance from her. 2,600 years before this event, a sage man called Ptah-Hotep made this a Golden Rule. "Do not repeat extravagance of language," he said. "Do not listen to it; it is a thing which has escaped from a hasty mouth. If it is repeated, look without hearing it toward the earth; say nothing in regard to it. Cause him who speaks to thee to know what is just, even him who provokes to injustice; cause that which is just to be done; cause it to triumph. As for that which is hateful according to the law, condemn it by unveiling it." Truly, to bend is to become straight. Many conflicts are born from our refusal to embrace our original Nature. Jesus refused to judge the "bad woman," but made her be a lesson for the so-called "good men."

The accusers were different from their prisoner because of gender. She was illiterate; they were scholars in theology. He who is to be humble must first be proud, and Moses strengthened these men's pride. When Jesus knelt down, he saw nothing else but the holiness of the place where they were standing. I am sure Jesus, in a mystic vision, saw the origin of man and woman. He counted the beauty of Creation: birds, rivers, flowers and trees, fountains and rocks, mountains and valleys. To enjoy all these blessings, we need not only to "be," but also to stand - to be in harmony with Nature. Earth is a sacred placed where all creatures are equal with a common destiny.

We are all sinners on this holy ground, but that does not mean that we should keep quiet in front of injustice, nor because we sin should we not make room for holiness. I remember watching on television a documentary about AIDS in some African countries. Most women who tested HIV-positive sometimes after their husband's deaths wanted to take revenge on other men, for they said, "Being faithful to their husbands has not prevent them from being infected by the virus."

We may not be individually responsible for an injustice but still be part of it as a community. So, rather than pointing at an individual, Jesus questioned the community: Are you without sin? See what you have you done to the earth? Afghans, what have you done to your women? America, what have you done to your Native people? Christians and Muslims, how far have you been with your extremists? Hutu, what have you done to the Tutsi, and vice versa? Each society has within it - especially among its leaders - the lovers as well as the haters of Justice.

Jesus' message was too challenging, and those that understood it were convicted by their own conscience. These past few weeks we have seen political leaders devoting themselves to terrorism, and turning their backs from their "adulterous creation" - under the threat of arms, but not growing out of an enlightened conscience. How long will their repentance last? Only the cosmic rays can inflame the heart for true repentance. But Jesus bent down for a second time and the hypocritical crowd vanished. It's the way of Heaven to empty bellies to create equality. The way of man is to fill the bellies to guarantee superiority. The preacher was kneeling before the adulterous woman! I wish somebody could have made a painting of this for us!

The second rising up was revelatory to women, and, by extension, to the entire Creation. Jesus' writings were kept unknown from John, but, as Meister Eckhart put it, Creation is a divine book of God. Many preachers have been trying to guess what Jesus wrote - what remains invisible in the accounts given in this gospel. What is real is that we certainly know inwardly what God has never written in the holy book of Creation. There are things that are more than visible in this world.

Jesus could have not written down a program for war and terrorism on earth. "Kill her! She's a bad woman!" we hear. Where is Jesus? Jesus is under our feet; crying the cries of the Mother Earth, who is in pain for the bloodshed of her children.

Jesus could have never signed a decree legalizing a social, political or religious system uniquely based on the written law. God released the tongues of Native people to chant and celebrate Creation. They teach us how to sing the bird's song, how to dance the music of the air. They are connected to Creation. There is no duality among Native religions with their cosmic philosophy. Jesus could have never condemned the Earth to death; rather, he loves her.

Jesus could have never voted for a religion that sows fear in order to reap hope. The virtuous is not responsible for fixing guilt.

It seems to me that if the world is not yet ready to read all the works of Christ, not because of their number but because of their disconcerting character. Much of our theology has been handed down from above, but here is Jesus rising up from the earth to teach the world. "Ye are from beneath; I am from above. Ye are of this world; I am not of this world. (John 8:23)" In his dwelling, Jesus loves the lowly earth. He who is higher in wisdom above all, teaches from the lowly things.

I feel the time has come to think of Creation as a persecuted woman. It is our duty to challenge those who want to destroy her. She has been the most faithful woman, always providing the seed for the sower. She is always refreshing us with different seasons.

I feel the time has come to think of Creation as a persecuted woman. It is our duty to challenge those who want to destroy her. She has been the most faithful woman, always providing the seed for the sower. She is always refreshing us with different seasons. She gave birth to the artists, philosophers, mathematicians, doctors, prophetesses, and so on. Unless Creation stands totally in front of us with her sorrows, unless she and the injustices done to her become visible, and unless we start working from beneath in this world, there is little hope.

There is no fair judgement against our cosmic maternal womb. No one can stand as a witness against her. Creation is the primordial divine womb. Extremists and religious fanatics think there is something morally wrong with her. They want to CHANGE the world. By the fire of their tongues they make groundless promises for a better world after the destruction of the existing one. As in the days of Jesus, they import from human despair a theology of hatred and fatalism.

All expressions of fundamentalism are patriarchal. Patriarchy hates women: especially the first woman, Nature. Fanatics fool themselves by calling those who are out of their control "the unfaithful," but it is their "sainthood" which offers a bad smell.

I know a young boy who is very dear to me. Last year, his father was sued in court because he raped his daughter. From his childhood, the young boy knew about his father's behavior; but when the time came for him to testify in court, even though he was willing, fear overwhelmed him. The victim was his sister, the rapist was his father. A day before his appearance to the court I had a chance to talk to him. I remember telling him, "Nobody can force you to testify against your father except your own c

The verdict was twenty years of imprisonment for his father. When we met after the sentence, he told me, "I am at peace now." No one should fear denouncing any form of terrorism. It may mean losing one's father, son or friend, for the sake of justice and peace.

onscience. You are the only eyewitness. It's power over fear." In the end, the verdict was twenty years of imprisonment for his father. When we met after the sentence, he told me, "I am at peace now." No one should fear denouncing any form of terrorism. It may mean losing one's father, son or friend, for the sake of justice and peace.

The authority to stand for truth and for justice was given to this young boy because of what he saw. In the same line, if we continue reading, we realize that Jesus' authority was born from the knowledge of the father within. His testimony for the innocence of the woman "suspected" of adultery needs no better approval than His conscience. Creation stands for its own witness. Creation speaks, but in few words. May God open our eyes to see this beauty. There are certain blessings we will hardly received unless we see them. We are blind when, instead of worshipping Creation, we want to be worshipped by her. We are blind when we fail to praise her for her unfailing love, choosing to call her by disgraceful names.

Many of us yearn for specific blessings. "Please God, bless me with a new car, bless me with a good husband/wife, bless me with a child." I want to be blessed; you want to be blessed. That's fine. There are blessings, which are given to us by right. The Mother Earth provides crops for all. Some other blessings require an exercise of faith. The first portion is natural; the second portion is special, cosmic, supernatural. I am not saying we need to be special to benefit from God. The fact is, we all fail sometimes to appreciate and stay aware of the "all time blessings." Just as it happened with Elisha - unless we realize that things that are out of our control are not lost but in God's hands - it's easy to get discouraged by the offspring of the messengers of destruction. I hope for peace and justice, but if it happens that this peace is taken away from my heart, and if I believe that what I am hoping for is not lost but is in God's hands, there I shall find my refuge.

Thank you, God, for those invisible things from you in the Creation.

Thank you for the invisible gospel making visible your infinite wisdom: revealing in the light of your love, our lies and corruption. Please restore the glory of your Creation, and let us not persevere in our foolishness of dishonoring our primordial maternal womb. Please, teach us to love her by worshipping her. Some call her "the adulterous woman," but before her, your Anointed bows His holy knees, and so humankind shall do likewise. God, not only our knees should bow, but bend our hearts too. Blow up the pages of the unseen holy scriptures of all religions that have been twisted by personal ambitions. As our Mother Earth, teach us not to live for self, but to give life to others through our own transformation.

Let us share the gift of peace, but if there is no peace, together we can sing our sorrows and share our tears. Amen.

Sybille Ngo Nyeck is a writer and an artist in Cameroon. Click HERE to visit her new regular column, Colors of Conscience.