Humility
Spiritual Fitness St Paul’s Unit 3
Humility
The Woman Taken in Adultery John 8:2-11 Vecchio
Early in the morning Jesus came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 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."
Nuts and Bolts The woman’s accusers seem to have a clearcut case. So why do they ask Jesus about it? What are they expecting him to do?
He Qi
Nuts and Bolts In the Law of Moses, sex between a married woman and any man was adultery; sex between an unmarried woman and any man was fornication. Would the story be different - have a different emotional force - if it were a man caught in adultery? If so, what does that say about them, and us? Codex Egberti
Nuts and Bolts This story is partly about the arrogance we show in judging one another, and partly about the arrogance we show in expecting God to congratulate us us for it. Which do you think is the bigger sin? Which is more common? L’Ortolano
Nuts and Bolts If we were to set this story today, who might be the scribes and Pharisees, and who might be the woman?
Beckman
Looking at Ourselves If humility is about being truly – and only – who we are, what are some of the false qualities we try to project? What are we trying to gain through them?
Cranach
Looking at Ourselves
Poussin
Who in our lives or communities is an easy target for our hypocrisy? What, if anything, can we do to resist the urge to start throwing stones?
Looking at Ourselves Religious zeal seems to connect with violent behavior quite easily. Why is this? Can it be avoided? Does avoiding it mean an inevitable decline in religious devotion?
Polenov
Looking at Ourselves It has become a routine ritual for public figures in America, caught in some misbehavior, to go on national TV (Oprah, Barbara Walters) and express contrition as a way of creating “closure.” Do you think this does them any good? Does it do us any good?
Lotto
Exercise Images of ourselves Flip through some of the magazines and choose pictures that represent a)who you think you really are and b) who you want others to think you are
How Artists See It
Bruegel
How Artists See It
Aertsen
How Artists See It
Simon Davies
How Artists See It
Rembrandt
Humility
The Woman Taken in Adultery John 8:2-11 Vecchio
Early in the morning Jesus came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 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."
Nuts and Bolts The woman’s accusers seem to have a clearcut case. So why do they ask Jesus about it? What are they expecting him to do?
He Qi
Nuts and Bolts In the Law of Moses, sex between a married woman and any man was adultery; sex between an unmarried woman and any man was fornication. Would the story be different - have a different emotional force - if it were a man caught in adultery? If so, what does that say about them, and us? Codex Egberti
Nuts and Bolts This story is partly about the arrogance we show in judging one another, and partly about the arrogance we show in expecting God to congratulate us us for it. Which do you think is the bigger sin? Which is more common? L’Ortolano
Nuts and Bolts If we were to set this story today, who might be the scribes and Pharisees, and who might be the woman?
Beckman
Looking at Ourselves If humility is about being truly – and only – who we are, what are some of the false qualities we try to project? What are we trying to gain through them?
Cranach
Looking at Ourselves
Poussin
Who in our lives or communities is an easy target for our hypocrisy? What, if anything, can we do to resist the urge to start throwing stones?
Looking at Ourselves Religious zeal seems to connect with violent behavior quite easily. Why is this? Can it be avoided? Does avoiding it mean an inevitable decline in religious devotion?
Polenov
Looking at Ourselves It has become a routine ritual for public figures in America, caught in some misbehavior, to go on national TV (Oprah, Barbara Walters) and express contrition as a way of creating “closure.” Do you think this does them any good? Does it do us any good?
Lotto
Exercise Images of ourselves Flip through some of the magazines and choose pictures that represent a)who you think you really are and b) who you want others to think you are
How Artists See It
Bruegel
How Artists See It
Aertsen
How Artists See It
Simon Davies
How Artists See It
Rembrandt
