Fifth Sunday of Lent

(4/6/2025) Gospel Reading: John 8:1-11

 

“Go, and Do Not Sin Again”

 

Even now, says the Lord,

return to me with your whole heart;

for I am gracious and merciful.

 

From the desk of Fr. Leo Alban Asuncion

     The dramatic scene in this weekend’s Gospel reading is the familiar one in which the scribes and the Pharisees led before Jesus a woman who had been caught in adultery. The situation has given an expression to our language: “Don't be the first to throw a stone.” We might well conclude, then, that the message of the Gospel is that we should not be quick to judge others. And that is indeed a valid application, as well as often a necessary one.        

     On the other hand, this episode tells us something very important about Jesus, our Savior. The scribes and the Pharisees thought they could trap Jesus in a dilemma. If he agreed that the woman should be stoned, they could accuse him of cruelty. If he declared that the woman should go free, they could accuse him of violating the law of Moses. When they asked, “What do you have to say about the case?” Jesus as usual refused to answer the question. Instead, he first dismissed their stance as completely inane, as insignificant as the scribbles he traced on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in their questioning, he uttered his challenge: “Let the man among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her.”        

     Of course, they all walked away. Jesus, who could have met his own challenges, preferred to offer the opportunity for conversion. He did not condone the sin the woman had committed. He granted her pardon, but he did instruct her, “From now on, avoid this sin.” Jesus did not throw a stone at the woman, and he does not throw stones at us. God does not will the death of sinners but only that they be converted and live.

     The vivid imagery of the prophet Isaiah in this weekend's first reading is readily applied to Jesus: “...the Lord opens a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters.” In his compassion for us, Jesus always opens a way amid the sea of sin and shapes a path through the mighty waters of doubt and confusion. He is always eager to offer us forgiveness, if we try to follow his exhortation: “From now on, avoid sin.” We must do the best we can.      

     On the First Sunday of Lent, we saw the devil tempting Jesus to turn stones into bread. Stones do not interest Jesus, but bread does. In every Mass, he transforms bread into his body and wine into his blood. Stones, Jesus does not offer us, but he does offer his body given up for us and his blood poured out for us so that sins may be forgiven. The Holy Eucharist is the sign that we need never fear to stand before Christ and acknowledge our sinfulness in the sacrament of penance. Christ casts no stones.

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Meditation: Are you ready to be changed and transformed in Christ-like holiness? God never withholds his grace from us. His steadfast love and mercy is new every day (Lamentations 3:22-23). Through the gift and grace of the Holy Spirit we can be changed and made new in Christ. He can set us free from our unruly desires and passions.

Unjust accusations against Jesus
The Gospel accounts frequently describe how Jesus had to face unjust accusations made by the Pharisees, the ruling elders of Israel. They were upset with Jesus' teaching and they wanted to discredit him in any way they could. They wanted to not only silence him, but to get rid of him because of his claim to speak with God's authority. When a moral dilemma or difficult legal question arose, it was typical for the Jews to take the matter to a rabbi for a decision. The scribes and the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. John writes that they wanted to "test" Jesus on the issue of retribution so " they might have some charge to bring against him" (John 8:6).

Jewish law treated adultery as a serious crime since it violated God's ordinance and wreaked havoc on the stability of marriage and family life. It was one of the three gravest sins punishable by death. If Jesus said the woman must be pardoned, he would be accused of breaking the law of Moses. If he said the woman must be stoned, he would lose his reputation for being the merciful friend of sinners.

Jesus then does something quite unexpected - he begins to write in the sand. The word for "writing" which is used here in the Gospel text has a literal meaning "to write down a record against someone" (for another example see Job 13:26). Perhaps Jesus was writing down a list of the sins of the accusers standing before him. Jesus now turns the challenge towards his accusers. In effect he says:Go ahead and stone her! But let the man who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.The Lord leaves the matter to their own consciences.

Pardon, restoration, and new life
When the adulterous woman is left alone with Jesus, he both expresses mercy and he strongly exhorts her to not sin again. The scribes wished to condemn, Jesus wished to forgive and to restore the sinner to health. His challenge involved a choice - either to go back to her former way of sin and death or to reach out to God's offer of forgiveness, restoration, and new life in his kingdom of peace and righteousness. Jesus gave her pardon and a new start on life. God's grace enables us to confront our sin for what it is - unfaithfulness to God, and to turn back to God with a repentant heart and a thankful spirit for God's mercy and forgiveness. Do you know the joy of repentance and a clean conscience?

God our Father, we find it difficult to come to you, because our knowledge of you is imperfect. In our ignorance we have imagined you to be our enemy; we have wrongly thought that you take pleasure in punishing our sins; and we have foolishly conceived you to be a tyrant over human life. But since Jesus came among us, he has shown that you are loving, that you are on our side against all that stunts life, and that our resentment against you was groundless. So we come to you, asking you to forgive our past ignorance, and wanting to know more and more of you and your forgiving love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Prayer of Saint Augustine)

   read more at: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org

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