JESUS: FACE OF GOD’S MERCY 

In the story of the woman caught in adultery, we encounter the loving visible face of God’s mercy in Jesus Christ.  This changes our image and concepts of God in Christianity from a God who seeks to destroy or punish us for our sins to a God who hates our sins but loves and cherishes us poor sinners.

The fundamental question today is: Who can condemn? No one is eligible to do that in our human or spiritual life, no matter our self-righteousness. We are all sinners with open or hidden sins known or unconcealed to men but known to God.  

The truth is that we all need Christ to save us from our attitude of excessive condemnation of others either mentally, virtually, or verbally.

EMPOWERMENT OF GRACE: JESUS IS THE FACE OF GOD’S MERCY

The principal or central theme of this fifth Sunday of Lent is that there is empowerment through the grace and mercy of God in our sinfulness. God is never interested in the death or punishment of any one of us due to sin. His grace and mercy always meet us in our state or moment of wretchedness.

The readings of this Sunday, especially the gospel of the woman caught in adultery, spell out for us who Jesus is, his message and his mission. Pope Francis said that JESUS IS THE FACE OF GOD’S MERCY. Therefore, Jesus is the mercy of God; his message and mission are centred on forgiveness and restoration.

OUR THEME: JESUS: FACE OF GOD’S MERCY

Our central theme is the mercy of God despite our sinfulness. St. Paul says in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for he who is in Christ Jesus. Instead, there is an empowerment of grace and mercy to live a dignified Christian life.

In other words, God does not condemn us in Christ but shows us his compassionate and tender love. This is the principal theme of the Lenten season, a time of grace, mercy, and the renewal of life. The readings remind us of the Easter victory and glory of Christ, who restores all things to wholeness through His passion, death, and resurrection.

In a nutshell, the mercy of God does not condone sins but helps the sinner to repent and gain salvation in Christ Jesus. Therefore, in God, there is no judgment, punishment, condemnation or criticism of the sinner, but a call to conversion and renewal. 

THE THEME OF THIS SUNDAY, ACCORDING TO FR TONY KADAVIL

Reminding us of God’s readiness to forgive sin, give the sinner a second chance, bind up broken lives, and restore people to His friendship. Today’s readings challenge us to show the same mercy to the sinners around us and to live as forgiven people, actively seeking reconciliation with God and one another.

The central theme of all three readings is a merciful God’s steadfast love. The readings remind us that we should not be self-righteous and condemn the lives of others when God is calling them tenderly to conversion.

FIRST READING: ISAIAH 43:16-21

The prophet promises the exiles a new Exodus from the Land of captivity.  Hence, the chosen people of God, on their return from the Babylonian exile, were consoled by the prophet Isaiah. ¨Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago; consider not; see, I am doing something new¨!  The merciful God has forgiven their sins, and he is renewing all things in them and for them.

The bitter passion of Christ leads to the glorious resurrection of Easter. This mystery is also replicated in our lives during Lent and Easter. We go through the crucible of Lenten observances and sacrifices to enter into the joy of Easter. When Christ rose from the dead, defeating Satan, evil, sin and death. At Lent, we died to ourselves to rise to newness and glory at Easter.

That is to say, we are exiled from God and enslaved to sin. As such, Lent helps us to be freed from our sins and to return to God through Christ’s victory over sins, death and the devil. Isaiah reminds us of God’s doings in our lives.

The prophecy reminds us that the God of grace and mercy will work wondrous deeds in impossible events and situations of our lives. He invites us to embrace his mercy, love and grace: a chance to be restored to wholeness.

PSALM 125 OR 126

The verses of the responsorial Psalm (Ps 126) express divine graciousness with joy and gratitude. It also encourages us to reflect seriously on the ultimate example of God’s compassionate love for us. The Psalmist also reminds us of the joy God’s mercy brings us when we ask for and receive His pardon.

He affirms that the Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. This should be the joy of the adulterous woman sentenced to death before Christ in the gospel of today. She was not only free by Christ from the bondage of sin but also saved from death in the hands of the cruel machismo of men. 

SECOND READING: PHILIPPIANS 3:8-14

St. Paul calls us to sustain our lives and faith in Christ’s grace and mercy, for an effective, positive and everlasting change. 

Thus, he presents himself as a forgiven sinner who was transformed by his Faith in Christ Jesus. His life is an example of the Gospel exhortation, “Go and sin no more.” Hence, for him, no pleasure, gift, talent, or riches can rival the invaluable blessing of possessing Christ.

The fundamental implication of this passage is the uselessness of Law and the sufficiency of knowing Christ and accepting the offer of God’s grace.

Our most profound desire in life is to find fellowship with God and to be at peace and in friendship with him.

Paul had discovered that a right relationship with God is based not on Law but on faith in Jesus Christ.

It is not achieved by any man but given by God through the gift of faith. Therefore, the holiness of life is a gift, a sharing in Christ’s grace and mercy.

THE GOSPEL: JOHN 8:1-11

Today’s gospel, the story of a sinful woman caught in adultery, presents God’s forgiveness of sin. It shows us the inexhaustible mercy, compassion and forgiveness Jesus had towards a repentant sinner.

LESSONS OF THE GOSPEL

1. There is an injustice with those who accuse us of sins. They never mentioned their role or the third party: where is the man involved adultery with this woman.
2. God’s infinite mercy and grace in Christ Jesus became the changing moment for the woman caught in adultery.
3. She encountered restoration of her human dignity and grace and mercy without condemnation: a second chance.
4.  Jesus opposes such bias, sexism, arrogance and violence against women.   “Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her”.
5. God in Christ Jesus loves sinners but has zero tolerance for sin.  “Neither do I condemn you.  Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
6. Jesus invites us to self-examination of conscience before passing judgment on others.  

At this moment, in this beautiful story, God’s grace and mercy met with human justice and punishment dramatically:

1. Her shame is forgotten.
2. Her guilt is covered.
3. Her dignity is restored.
4. Her punishment is erased
5. God’s unfathomable mercy replaced her terrible fear of facing death.

CHRIST AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Jewish men brought in a woman they had caught in adultery. Three terms express their sense of dominance: “They caught her.” “They brought her.” “They made her stand before them all.” Their audacity in doing this “holy act” was from the Law of Moses.

However, Jesus opposes such arrogance and sexism. No sentence of death comes from God. With admirable audacity, he brings truth, justice and compassion to bear on the act of judgment. He invited them to self-examination of conscience before passing judgment on others;

 “Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her”.

WHERE IS THE ADULTEROUS MAN?

The Jewish men who shamed the woman acted with righteous indignation. Though they wanted to trap Jesus, there was also a lacuna in their case against this poor woman. They claimed they caught her in the very act of adultery, then where is the man? It takes two tangos in the sin or crime of adultery.

Yes, the woman was not innocent, but the treatment against her was unfair. She was a victim of religious righteousness, which not only humiliated or demonised her but wanted to oblige her. In their eyes, her fate is sealed: it must be death by stoning, according to the law.

Sadly enough, no one talks about the adulterous man involved.  Leviticus 20:10 declares: If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

The fate and punishment of the woman were also that of the man. However, he was not indicted for his sin or crime. As always happens in a sexist society, the woman gets condemned, and the man walks free.

JESUS HEALING THE BRUTALIZED WOMAN

Womanhood is a victim of many cases of abuse: physical, psychological, emotional, cultural and religious. The woman caught in adultery represents the millions of girls and women subjected to all sorts of inhumane practices in the name of religion or culture.

The most beautiful thing today is that Jesus brought radical healing, hope and empowerment to this oppressed or disadvantaged woman. The ordeal of women in many religious and cultural circles of the world is one of exposure to shame and condemnation.

Therefore, Jesus did not only liberate the woman against injustice, he saved her from the brutality and cruelty of men and the society of machismo.

IT WAS GOOD THAT THEY BROUGHT HER TO CHRIST

It was a saving grace that made the unreflective male crowd bring the woman caught in adultery to Christ. Amidst their unjust condemnation, Jesus risks his life to save that of the woman.

There was already a sense of animosity against him that could explode into a violent attack. The occasion of the angry and zealous crowd presents one such moment.

More so, the only condemnation that matters against the woman is that of Jesus. Yet, he declared to her: Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on, do not sin again.

Indeed, the pardon of Christ gave her a second chance. She, who was at the brink of condemnation and death, came to the reality that today was not her last day on earth. It was a new beginning: a new life in and with Christ Jesus.

THE ACCUSATION OF SIN

In this way, the accusations, shame and condemnation of the devil, sin and others over in Christ Jesus no longer carry any weight. Their judgment can cripple our spiritual growth, and hold us captive to guilt and shame.

Hence, the only verdict that counts over us is that of Jesus. His forgiving verdict empowers us to confess our sins and receive God’s mercy.

THE SIN OF ADULTERY FOR THE JEWS 

Last Sunday, Jewish religious leaders were angry that Jesus mingled with sinners. Hence, the scribes and Pharisees were out to get some charge on which they could discredit Jesus.

Here, they thought they had impaled him inescapably on the horns of a dilemma. That is, whenever a complex legal question arose, the natural and routine thing was to take it to a Rabbi for a decision.

So the scribes and Pharisees approached Jesus as a Rabbi with a woman caught in adultery.  In the eyes of Jewish law, adultery was a serious crime. The Rabbis said: “Every Jew must die before he will commit idolatry, murder or adultery.” Adultery was, in fact, one of the three gravest sins, and it was punishable by death.

THE JEWISH LAW AGAINST ADULTERY

However, there were some differences on how the death penalty was to be carried out. Lev.20:10 lays it down: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”

There, the method of death is not specified. Deut.22:13-24 lays down the penalty in the case of a girl who is already betrothed. In a case like that, she and the man who seduced her are to be brought outside the city gates, “and you shall stone them to death with stones.”

The Mishnah, that is, the Jewish codified law, states that the penalty for adultery is strangulation, and even the method of strangulation is laid down. “The man is to be enclosed in dung up to his knees, and a soft towel set within a rough towel is to be placed around his neck (so that no mark may be made, for the punishment is God’s punishment).

Then one man draws in one direction and another in the other direction until he is dead.” The Mishnah reiterates that death by stoning is the penalty for a girl who is betrothed and who then commits adultery. From a purely legal point of view, the scribes and Pharisees were perfectly correct. This woman was liable to death by stoning.

THE TRAP AND THE DILEMMA OF CHRIST

The dilemma into which they sought to put Jesus was this: If he said that the woman ought to be stoned to death, three things followed. They wanted to use the occasion to discredit Jesus in the eyes of his followers.

First, if Jesus said that the woman should be pardoned, it could immediately be seen that he was teaching men to break the Law of Moses.  That he was condoning and even encouraging people to commit adultery.

Second, if he agreed with their sentence, he would be seen as lacking in mercy. He would lose the name he had gained for love and for mercy and never again would be called the friend of sinners.

Third, he would come into conflict with Roman law, for the Jews had no power to pass or carry out the death sentence on anyone.

THE ONLY TIME JESUS WROTE SOMETHING: WHAT WAS IT?

That was the trap in which the scribes and Pharisees sought to entrap Jesus. Jesus saw through their plotting and made them withdraw in confusion and shame. He turned their attack in such a way that it recoiled against themselves. At first, Jesus stooped down and wrote with his finger on the ground. Why did he do that? There may be four possible reasons.

(i)  He may have wished to gain time and not be rushed into a decision. In that brief moment, he may have been both thinking the thing out and taking it to God.

(ii) Certain manuscripts add, “As though he did not hear them.” Jesus may well have deliberately forced the scribes and Pharisees to repeat their charges so that, in repeating them, they might realise the sadistic cruelty which lay behind them.

(iii) Some Bible scholars believe that “Jesus was seized with an intolerable sense of shame. He could not meet the eye of the crowd or the accusers. Perhaps at that moment least of all of the women. In his burning embarrassment and confusion, he stooped down to hide his face, and began writing with his fingers upon the ground.”

It may well be the leering, lustful look on the faces of the scribes and Pharisees. The bleak cruelty in their eyes, the prurient curiosity of the crowd, and the shame of the woman all combined to twist the very heart of Jesus in agony and pity.  So that he hid his eyes.

(iv) By far, the most interesting suggestion emerges from some of the later manuscripts. The Armenian translates the passage this way: “He, bowing his head, was writing with his finger on the earth to declare their sins.  They were seeing their several sins on the stones.”

The suggestion is that Jesus was writing in the dust the sins of the very men who were accusing the woman. There may be something in that.

The Greek word for “to write” is “graphein”; but here, the word used is “katagraphein”, which can mean to write down a record against someone. One of the meanings of kata is against. So in Jb.13:26, Job says: “Thou writest (katagraphein) bitter things against me.”

It may be that Jesus was confronting those self-confident sadists with the record of their sins.

THE CONFRONTATION THROUGH WISDOM, TRUTH, JUSTICE AND COMPASSION OF GOD

However that may be, the scribes and Pharisees continued to insist on an answer, and they got it hard from Jesus.  Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Jesus said in effect, “All right! Stone her! But let the man that is without sin be the first to cast a stone.”

It may well be that the word for without sin (anamartetos) means not only without sin but even without a sinful desire. Jesus was saying: Yes, you may stone her, but only if you never wanted to do the same thing yourselves.

The truth was deep, the wisdom was profound, and justice was implored, but above all, the compassion of God was applied. Hence, there was silence, and then slowly the accusers drifted away in shame. The wisdom of God overturns human arrogance, pride and cruelty.

JESUS AND THE ADULTEROUS WOMAN: OUR CONFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

So, Jesus and the woman were left alone. As Augustine put it, there remained a great misery (miseria) and a great pity (misericordia). Jesus said to the woman: “Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. Jesus said: “I am not for the moment going to pass judgment on you either. Go, and make a new start, and don’t sin anymore.”

This is how divine justice and mercy meet us in the sacrament of reconciliation. No matter our sins, how many things we may have committed those sins. God never judges, condemns or punishes us.

He always grants us his infinite mercy. This Psalm 102 or 103: 8-10 affirms: the Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and rich in mercy. He does not treat us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities.

At every confessional encounter and experience with Jesus through the ministration of the priest. This is the inexhaustible mercy and unfathomable love we experience amidst the accusations of the devil or people who may judge us mercilessly.

THE ATTITUDE OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS TOWARDS SINNERS

This passage shows certain behaviours and attitudes of the scribes, Pharisees and Jesus towards a sinner. 

It shows us that most religious leaders’ conception of authority is the ability to condemn and punish sinners.  The scribes and the Pharisees were the legal experts, and to them, authority was characteristically critical, censorious and condemnatory.

That authority should be based on sympathy or empathy is unacceptable. They conceived of their function as giving them the right to stand over others like grim invigilators, to watch for every mistake and every deviation from the law, and to descend on them with savage and unforgiving punishment. 

They never dreamed that it might lay upon them the obligation to cure the wrongdoer.

OUR ATTITUDES TO “SINNERS”

In the same vein, there are still many of us who regard our position of authority as giving us the right to condemn and the duty to punish.

We have the moral authority to act as moral watchdogs trained to punish sinners for their sins. However, all authority is founded on compassion, sympathy, or empathy that enable us to relate, feel, and connect with the sinner. 

For every sinner we meet or see, the first lesson is that there, go I, but for the grace and mercy of God. 

WE MUST BE GOD’S FACE OF MERCY TOO

Hence, the first duty of religious authority is to try to understand the force of the temptations which drove the sinner to sin. The seductiveness of the circumstances in which sin became so attractive and irresistible to his weak will.

It is right that we learn that no man can pass judgment on another unless he at least tries to understand what the other has come through.

The second duty of religious authority is to seek to reclaim the wrongdoer. Any authority which is solely concerned with punishment is wrong and ungodly. 

In essence, any religious authority which, in its exercise, drives a wrongdoer either to despair or to resentment is a failure.

Therefore, the function of religious authority is not to banish the sinner from all decent society. It is not to wipe him out; it is to make him into a good man. A priest or Christian in authority must be like a wise physician; his one desire must be to heal.

THE CONSPIRACY OF THE JEWISH RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY

This incident vividly and cruelly shows the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees toward people. They were not looking at this woman as a person at all.  They were looking at her only as a thing, an instrument, whereby they could formulate a charge against Jesus.

They were using her, as a man might use a tool, for their purposes. To them, she had no name, no personality, no feelings; she was simply a pawn in the game whereby they sought to destroy Jesus.

It is always wrong to regard people as things. It is the most unchristian thing to do, that is, to use people as cases or things.  It is unlikely that the scribes and the Pharisees even knew this woman’s name.

To them, she was nothing but a case of shameless adultery that could now be used as an instrument to suit their purposes.  The minute people become things, the spirit of Christianity is dead.  God uses his authority to love men into goodness; to God, no person ever becomes a thing.

We must also use our religious authority as we have always to understand the sinner and his complex situation. At least, we must try to mend the person who has made the mistake. Truly, we can only begin to do that when we remember that every person is not a thing.

CHALLENGE FROM THE ATTITUDE OF JESUS TOWARDS SINNERS

Furthermore, this incident tells us a great deal about Jesus and his attitude toward sinners.

 It was the first principle of Jesus that only the man who himself is without fault has the right to express a judgment on the fault of others. “Judge not,” said Jesus, “that you be not judged” (Matt.7:1).

One of the commonest faults in life is that so many of us demand standards from others that we never even try to meet ourselves. We condemn faults in others that are glaringly obvious in our own lives.

IMPLICATIONS FOR US

1.         The qualification for judging is not knowledge; we all possess that. It is an achievement in goodness, and none of us is perfect there.

2.         Hence, it is a fact in all human situations that only God has the right to judge. For the simple reason that no man is good enough to judge any other.

3.         It was also the first principle with Jesus that our first emotion towards anyone who has made a mistake should be pity and not rash judgment or criticism.  When we are confronted with someone who has made a mistake.

4.         Our first feeling ought to be not, “I’ll have nothing more to do with someone who could act like that,” but, “What can I do to help? What can I do to undo the consequences of this mistake?”

5.         Quite simply, we must always extend to others the same compassionate pity we would wish to be extended to ourselves if we were involved in a like situation.

6.         We must understand just how Jesus did treat this woman with respect and dignity in spite of her sinfulness. 

7.         It is easy to draw the wrong lesson altogether and to gain the impression that Jesus forgave lightly and easily, as if the sin did not matter.

8.         What he said was, “I am not going to condemn you just now; go, and sin no more.” In effect, what he was doing was not abandoning judgment and saying, “Don’t worry; it’s quite all right.

9.         It is clear that Jesus loves a sinner and understands his struggle against sin. However, it is even clearer that he has zero tolerance for sins and sinful lifestyles.

JESUS’S ATTITUDE TO THE SINNER INVOLVED SEVERAL THINGS.

(a) It involved a second chance. It is as if Jesus said to the woman, “I know you have made a mess of things, but life is not finished yet; I am giving you another chance, the chance to redeem yourself. 

In Jesus, there is the gospel of the second chance. He was always intensely interested, not only in what a person had been but also in what a person could be.

He did not say that what they had done did not matter. Of course, broken laws and broken hearts always matter. However, he was sure that every man has a future as well as a past.

It involved pity. The basic difference between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees was that they wished to condemn; he wished to forgive.

If we read between the lines of this story, it is quite clear that they wished to stone this woman to death and were going to take pleasure in doing so.

They knew the thrill of exercising the power to condemn. Jesus knew the thrill of exercising the power to forgive.

Jesus regarded the sinner with pity born of love; the scribes and Pharisees regarded him with disgust born of self-righteousness.

GOODNESS IS GO AND SIN NO MORE

It involved challenges. Jesus confronted this woman with the challenge of a sinless life. He did not say: “It’s all right; don’t worry; just go on as you are doing.” He said: “It’s all wrong; go out and fight; change your life from top to bottom; go, and sin no more.”

There was no easy forgiveness; here was a challenge that pointed a sinner to heights of the goodness of which she had never dreamed. Jesus confronts the bad life with the challenge of the good.

It involved a belief in human nature. When we come to think of it, it is a staggering thing that Jesus should say to a woman of loose morals: “Go, and sin no more.”

The amazing, heart-uplifting thing about him was his belief in men and women. When he was confronted with someone who had gone wrong.  He did not say: “You are a wretched and a hopeless creature.” He said: “Go, and sin no more.” He believed that with his help, the sinner has it in him to become a saint.

His method was not to blast men with the knowledge–which they already possessed–that they were miserable sinners but to inspire them with the unglimpsed discovery that they were potential saints.

It involved a warning, clearly unspoken but implied. Here we are face to face with the eternal choice. Jesus confronted the woman with a choice that day–either to go back to her old ways or to reach out to the new way with him.

This story is unfinished, for every life is unfinished until it stands before God.

OUR REFLECTION IN A NUTSHELL

We may think we have the moral authority or spirit of self-righteousness to act as moral watchdogs trained to punish sinners for their sins. However, all authority is founded on compassion, sympathy, or empathy that enables us to relate, feel, and connect with the sinner. 

OUR PRAYER: ACT OF CONTRITION

 Lord Jesus Christ, we acknowledge my sin and the pain it has caused, particularly my infidelity. I ask for your forgiveness for the wounds I have inflicted and for the broken trust. Forgiving Christ, grant us the strength to face the consequences of our actions and to begin the difficult journey of healing and restoration.

Help me to find my way back to you and to live a life that honours your love and your truth. May your Spirit guide us, and may we find peace and hope in your unwavering compassion. Amen.