"What do you say?"
Word for Sunday: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031316-fifth-sunday-lent.cfm
Isa 43:16-21
Phil 3: 8-14
Jn 8: 1-11
Words
spoken by Pope St. John XXIII 54 years ago at the opening of the Second Vatican
Council are heard echoed by our present Pope Francis who has reclaimed them and
expanded far and wide the spirit of Christ for all which should always be found
in this faith community of the Church.
St. John XXIII, at the opening of the Council, spoke of: “the medicine of mercy,” and that the
Church should “Show herself a loving
mother to all: patient, kind, moved by compassion and goodness.” It is also
the spirit of our Lenten season and in particular of last Sunday’s Gospel (Lk
15: 11-232) and this Sunday as well. (Jn
8: 1-11). Here, the “medicine of mercy” is boldly applied and we should see ourselves
as receiving the same, expressed in the mission of the Church.
In our Gospel
(Jn 8: 1-11) for this Sunday before we
begin our annual Holy Week drama next toward the glory of the Easter season, we
find Jesus confronted with the anger of accusers. Their anger is deliberate. The Pharisees and the scribes are angry at the
crowds being amassed by Jesus as teacher. They are the teachers! Now, in what appeared to be a violation of the
marriage covenant through an act of adultery by a shamed woman they bring her before
Jesus in humiliation. But their claim is somewhat suspicious:“Teacher, this woman was caught in the very
act of committing adultery.” Really?
How was that done and where is the man she was involved with? Was
someone hiding in the shadows as a decoy waiting for the very moment? A creepy thought to say the least.
Or is this
a set-up in which to trap Jesus? It
seems so: “They did this to test him so
that they could have some charge to bring against him.” So, we may wonder
if she was actually “caught in the act” or is this ploy; a false trumped up
charge to see what Jesus would say in this apparent violation of the Mosaic
Law, the seventh commandment which holds sacred the marriage bond? Either way,
it seems suspect and the poor accused woman remains speechless before her
charge true or false. Jesus alone stands in judgement. The charge on the woman is that of a capital
crime deserving of death! The crowd is all eyes and ears in anticipation.
Assumed to
now be trapped by the Pharisees who view themselves watchdogs of religious
purity, they await Jesus’ response with sinister motives. Is he backed into a corner?
He says nothing at first but bends down to write on the ground. What was on the
face of the woman? Shame, fear, anger, a
head bowed in silence? We might picture
all of the above. What was on the face
of Jesus? It seems we can assume only
mercy.
Better yet,
what did he write on the ground? Was it
just idle scribble till the lynch mob settles down? The Ten Commandments? The seventh one of which
this woman was accused of breaking? Or would it be a list of sins? We might
want to imagine the sins of the accusers, as has been one theory.
Regardless,
Jesus says nothing. He doesn’t point a
finger except to write. He doesn’t bring shame, only the moment for
self-reflection. Remember the wayward son (Lk 15) who eventually “came to his
senses” then returned to his father? Yet, the arrow is now pointed not to the
woman but to her smug accusers.
Finally,
Jesus gets right to the core of the issue: “Let
the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And
again begins to write. You can hear the
stones begin to drop and feet shuffle away in the dust with the grumbling of
disgust.
Having
turned the shame of truth on the accusers and away from the woman, Jesus stands
alone to face her. He only is without
sin but has empty hands. All have left without a stone thrown and God in Christ
reaches out in mercy: “Has no one
condemned you? She replied, ‘No one, sir.’ Then Jesus said, “Neither do I
condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
While we
don’t know the exact identity of this woman, though a long tradition says it
may be Mary Magdalene, it is more helpful to see ourselves in her. She is now free not to continue in further
sin but to now live a new life in Christ.
To experience such overwhelming unexpected mercy invites us all to
conversion. In the face of Christ we
find such dignified and respectful love we can never go back to what we
were.
God hates
the sin, for certain, but loves the sinner and we must the same. This is not
cheap grace but grace bought at the price of Jesus’ own life now extended to
all who repent.
Our second reading from Philippians so beautifully expresses
this
as Paul reflects on his own conversion: "For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him."Mercy was
shown to Paul along that road to Damascus as he was intent on the destruction
of the Christian faith. But, God had
another plan and powerfully turned the life of Paul 180 degrees in the other
direction.
Last week
showed us the selfish and wasteful son who shamed his loving father but who was
later forgiven and shown mercy by that same father. This week it is a woman whose moral compass
had gone far astray. With three such extreme examples, how could we not see
ourselves invited to the same?
The
message is that God is more concerned about forgiveness and recovery than he is
about our punishment. But, there is
always a caveat for all of us. That
obligation we have to not go back. To
the woman and to us Jesus says: “. . .
from now on do not sin anymore.”
What clearer
message could be given as to the way we must walk? God’s ever abundant mercy calls us to walk
the higher road and to leave behind all that is not of him. When we fall back, we have the mercy of God
to trust in as expressed in the sacrament of reconciliation, in the holy
Eucharist, in the compassion of others who reach out to us, in the support and
prayers of our community of faith.
Bless, + O Lord, your people,
who long for the gift of your mercy,
and grant that what, at your prompting, they desire
they may receive by your generous gift.
Through Christ our Lord.
(Prayer over the People)
No comments:
Post a Comment