This week’s theme in our Sanctified Art worship series, Tell Me Something Good is
the good news is … rooted in justice, mercy, and faithfulness
The scripture passage is from the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John – the story about the woman who was caught in adultery. One commentator recounted that she had seen the story renamed “the woman saved from stoning.” I kind of like that title better.
I would be remiss as a Christian leader, in my opinion, if I didn’t address the elephant in the room (at least in my room) this week – the ongoing issue of sexual assault in the news these past months about the Epstein files, and more recently the allegations in the past two days against Cesar Chavez, American labour leader and civil rights activist.
I’m afraid I can’t look away and unsee the connections between the scripture story and what I see in the world, and in my life.
So here is a warning. This is the topic of my blog this week – not in specific details, but in general … and some thoughts about what seems to be an accepted characteristic of society for millennia. My comments may cause discomfort … and it is understandable if some don’t want to read them. For me, I have come to understand that it is my duty to reflect on both personal experience and what I have learned, observed and read about over the past several decades. And, I think that many have been silent for too long … many for good reason. And if we are talking about mercy, justice and faithfulness, what is our Christian responsibility to bring about change?
However, some of you might want to look away now.
For those who haven’t heard the specifics of the Chavez story, this article from The Guardian pretty much sums up what has happened in the past 48 hours.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/mar/20/cesar-chavez-legacy-rape-allegations
I didn’t know much about Cesar Chavez before Thursday … just that he was an icon in the American farmers workers’ movement.
To say that this has rendered me speechless is a bit of an understatement. And angry. And sad. And then the cycle starts up again. Speechless, angry, sad. And I wondered why it was bothering me so … and what specifically I, as a spiritual leader was to say about it, if anything. Just another male icon fallen from grace, right?
Just like Noam Chomsky, revered American academic, philosopher and linguist (including my myself), who has been named in the Epstein files, and has defended Epstein in correspondence that has been uncovered. Or Jean Vanier, founder of the international L’Arche Community, who in 2020 was named as a sexual abuser of 6 women between 1970 and 2005. Or hymnwriter David Haas, who wrote my absolute favourite hymn in Voices United (896 Blest are They), and in 2020 had dozens of women accuse him of sexual misconduct spanning several decades. Or Deepak Chopra, also named in the Epstein files, or Sakkyong Mipham Rinpoche, former leader of the Shambhala community accused of sexual misconduct. And it goes on and on … nothing new here right?
I also want to hold up Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman who in 2024, waived her right to anonymity as the victim in a multiple rape case. Between 2011 and 2020, she had been drugged and raped by her husband Dominique and dozens of other men while she was unconscious, mostly in the couple's home. The case attracted international media attention and Gisèle's courage and determination to speak out on behalf of all victims of sexual assault won her international support and admiration. Her husband and forty-nine co-defendants were found guilty in December, 2025. Pelicot published a memoir in February of 2026.
I guess something snapped in me this week.
Perhaps it was after the thoughtful and heartfelt conversations in the Faith Study this week exploring the idea that the woman in the story could well have been a victim of assault, coercion, or desperation … we don’t know anything about her story. And the first question that someone asked about the story was “where was the man?” The story tells us that “she was caught in the act” … as Amy-Jill Levine says, it takes (at least) 2 to commit adultery. Somehow the man has escaped punishment and judgement, blame and shame.
Perhaps it was reading Dolores Huertas’ story. Huertas co-founded the United Farm Workers (UFW) with Chavez. At the age of 96, she finally decided it was time to come forward to tell her story – about the two sexual assaults that she experienced by Chavez, both resulting in a child that she gave up for adoption. She said she kept quiet all this time because she didn’t want to harm the farmworkers movement she spent her entire life fighting for, and she knew she wouldn’t be believed. After all these years she finally said it is time to tell my story.
Perhaps it was inevitable that I would finally get to my own mother’s story. I have lived with it for nearly 40 years … but this week it felt like I was seeing it anew. At the age of 63 she disclosed to me that she had been sexually abused as a child on an ongoing basis. But she didn’t tell anyone. Until she told my sister and I. We were both sworn to secrecy. We didn’t do very well on that front. There were cousins (we had 35) who were starting to put the story together and guessed the truth, which we confirmed. Turns out it was much more widespread than we imagined,. A man that was considered a saint in the family. It still enrages me, and explains so much about my mother.
That’s her in the sketch above. My cousin did it for me a few years ago from an old photograph. It reminds me of the little girl who had no voice and no power. And of the patriarchy that continues to abuse with impunity. Maybe by writing this I have claimed a bit of her power back … and her voice. Maybe that’s a small gift to her - to add her voice to the millions through history who have experienced helplessness, fear, and isolation. I can only hope and pray that might be true.
As for the sermon on Sunday – the focus will be, as the theme suggests, on justice, mercy and faithfulness, and on the cleverness of Jesus to outwit his antagonizers once again. And it will be short … because we have an Annual Meeting to get to … and there is lots to celebrate (see the Impact Report!!!).
And of course … we will be continuing to name the good news in our midst with our children - a highlight for me during these Lenten services.
Blessings
Martha