Breaking Open the Word
April 6, 5th Sunday of Lent
Introduction
While we often think of Lent as a season of repentance – and it is that – it is also a season in which we reflect repeatedly on the mercy and forgiveness of our loving God. Today, we hear powerful accounts of the new life that is ours in Christ Jesus. Mindful of God’s great love and mercy, we find the courage to look within ourselves with the intent of becoming more like Christ.
Writing during the Exile, Isaiah recalls the Exodus of God’s people from slavery when God opened a way through the sea for the Hebrew people to allow them safe passage to the Promised Land. God will also allow the exiles to depart Babylon and return to their homeland. Isaiah sees the Exile as a “new exodus” that will surpass the old in glory. God is about to do something altogether new. The wild beasts will be tamed, and deserts will spring forth like a river to give drink to God’s chosen people. God will wipe out the sins of the people, and they will give praise to the God who loves them.
God’s love and mercy to the people of Israel is made very personal in today’s Gospel.
Gospel Explained
Today’s Gospel shows us what the saving grace referred to in today’s second reading from Philippians looks like. To test Jesus the scribes and Pharisees bring to Him a woman caught in the act of adultery, asking Him if she should be stoned to death in accordance with the Mosaic law. Jesus is faced with two choices, neither of which is acceptable. Permitting the men to stone her would violate the Roman law that forbade the carrying out of capital punishment by the Jews. Letting the woman go would essentially ignoring her offense. Jesus does something unexpected. We do not know what He wrote on the ground, but we do know what happened next. Jesus challenges them by saying “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Slowly, one by one, they all depart leaving the woman alone with Jesus. Jesus has not come to judge her, but to save her. His message to the woman was straightforward: “Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin any more.”
Jesus did not evade the question of the scribes and Pharisees. Rather they were evading the real question, namely, the question of their own hearts and motives, their own sins. The adulteress was a mirror of their own sins. But instead of seeing themselves in that mirror, they shut their eyes. Jesus opened them with His answer. Jesus’ answer was the opposite of an evasion. He was destroying their evasion. When the Pharisees hear Jesus’ answer, they all go home, beginning with the oldest and wisest, for they realize that they are now the ones being questioned. The question Jesus asks the Pharisees is the same question God will ask each one of us when we die: Who are you? Show me everything in your soul.
Jesus then answers the question of the woman and her sin. His answer is twofold. First, His answer in effect says. “Since none of your accusers dares to judge you, I do not judge you either – even though I have no sin and have the right to judge you.” But what is often overlooked is the second part of Jesus’ response. “Go and sin no more.” Jesus forgives without being indifferent to the sin. He didn’t say “There is nothing to forgive.” There certainly is. He does not say, “Do not worry about your sin.” She certainly must. Jesus shows us that he forgives the sinner but also hates the sin because he truly loves the sinner. But Jesus is willing to take on the sin and pay the debt of sin through his sacrifice on the Cross.
Today's Theme
Today’s theme is God’s mercy and forgiveness, and every person’s need of it. Vatican II emphasized the universal call to holiness. Where sin abounds, and we all must acknowledge our sins, God’s grace of mercy and forgiveness abounds even more. But forgiveness calls us to be “reconciled” with God. His mercy and forgiveness are the grace that inspires within us a deeper love for Him. This deeper love is the motivation for us to “sin no more,” to do what makes us holy in the Lord’s eyes. Today’s Gospel is the image of the Golden Rule, “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” We cannot do this on our own. But united in God’s grace, we can act toward others with the love and mercy tat Christ has already done for us.
Theme in our Life Today
As we move forward in our faith journey, we are called to give mercy and forgiveness to others, even when it’s difficult. Jesus isn’t asking us to judge others. Rather, He uses the sins of others to teach us to look inward and identify our own sins. We are being called to see others as Jesus and the Father see them, as beloved children of God. We must look past the sins of others, leaving their judgment to the mercy of God. We are to imitate the Father’s endless mercy in all our relationships with others. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us.
How do we do this? Certainly not by our own power. Living this way requires courage. We normally don’t think of courage in terms of being merciful and forgiving. But courage is required to put ourselves in the place of the one who has sinned against us and offer them the same mercy that Our Lord gave us through His death on the Cross.
Prepare for Sunday
To Prepare for this Sunday’s Liturgy of the Word, consider the following:
1. What is in your mind and heart as you hear the story of the woman accused of adultery?
2. How does Jesus’ response touch you?
3. Where do today’s readings intersect with your current journey of faith?