“Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go away, and from this moment sin no more.”
John 8:1-11
Perhaps, one of the hardest things to be is a Single Mother. I remembered going to a prayer meeting once and the priest said that single motherhood is the work of the devil. He claimed that, when Satan wants to take women out of ministry, he sends the temptation and she gets pregnant and, she ends up minding the child alone.
In today’s gospel passage, only the woman is brought before Jesus, just as many times only the single mother is ostracized. One can ask, where are the men who are equally culpable? Many single mothers do not choose this lot for themselves, yet they are often marginalized by the church community.
Today, there are many single mothers who suffer with anxiety, depression, shame and PTSD from the breakdown of relationships and for carrying their heavy burdens alone. Let us pray that like the woman in today’s gospel, single mothers can encounter the same, loving Jesus who does not condemn- in the Eucharist and in the confessional.
Jesus, let your church be a healing space.