Catechism Links[1]
CCC 430, 545, 589, 1846-1847: Jesus manifests the Father’s mercy
CCC 133, 428, 648, 989, 1006: The surpassing wealth of knowing Christ
CCC 2475-2479: Rash judgment
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| “Christ and the Adulterous Woman” by Pieter van Lint, c. 1640 |
Options are offered for today’s Mass Celebration. The “Cycle A” readings may be used. Also, the first reading from the Cycle A readings may be used in place of Reading
Reading I: Isaiah 43:16-21
Commentary on Is 43:16-21
The prophet first demonstrates some irony as he tells the people he speaks in the name of God who led the people out of Egypt, and destroyed the Pharaoh’s army that pursued them. He then tells them not to think of the past. He speaks then of their return from exile in Babylon (the event happening as he writes), and how God again saved the people through his creative works. The intent of this discourse is to tell the people to thank God for what they themselves are receiving and to have faith in his saving presence.
CCC: Is 43:19 711
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Commentary on Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Psalm 126 is a lament. In this short psalm, the singer rejoices at the return of Israel following the Diaspora, the conquering of Israel and its enslavement. In this hymn, the people remember the greatness of God as he restores their nation and brings them back to their own land ("Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves"). The sense is one of being overflowing with thanksgiving.
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Reading II: Philippians 3:8-14
Commentary on Phil 3:8-14
In his own profession he states: all he has given up for the Lord counts for nothing as he holds Christ’s Lordship as the only thing of worth. He goes on to say that it is only through his faith in Christ that he receives salvation, that his former devotion to the Law of Moses did not accomplish salvation (as the Jews believe).
This discourse likely addresses some members of the community who feel they have achieved a high state of grace and have lost their humility. By his example, Paul, who in his status as founder would be considered to have been further along this course, demonstrates the humble attitude that should be present.
St. Paul speaks to the community at Philippi about the primacy of following Christ as the (his) most important possession. He inverts the phrase saying Christ has taken possession of him which should not be interpreted as meaning he believed he had attained perfect spiritual maturity but rather that he (Paul) had given himself totally to the service of Jesus. Paul again uses himself as example, telling the Philippians that (even) he has not achieved the end goal of “perfect maturity” (a final state of grace), rather he still pursues that goal. This selection guides the rule of St. Francis, first in their vows of poverty and second, as Franciscan Order of Minim Fiars, in their view as the least of God’s children.
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Gospel: John 8:1-11
Commentary on Jn 8:1-11
John’s Gospel places Jesus once more in the temple precincts. The story of Jesus and the Adulterous Woman constitutes another example of how the Jewish leadership attempts to trap Jesus with a difficult legal problem. They have no doubt heard the Lord’s teaching about loving one another and believe that he will not condemn the adulterous woman and thereby give them reason to call him “blasphemer.” As a side note, most scripture scholars believe this passage was not originally in St. John’s Gospel but was borrowed from St. Luke. Regardless, from a very early period it has been considered sacred in the current context.
It is not completely clear what Jesus is being asked to judge. The law concerning adultery by a betrothed virgin was stoning (see Deuteronomy 22:23-24). However, the law concerning married women was simply death (see Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22) and was generally carried out by strangulation.
In response, rather than debating the law, he simply begins writing in the dust. Tradition tells us that what he wrote with his finger was a list of the sins of those gathered to stone the woman caught in adultery. He then asked that the one without sin should cast the first stone. (The first stones were to be thrown by the witnesses.)
In either case, Jesus should not have been able to commute her sentence without going against the law so he uses his knowledge of people’s hearts to have the charges withdrawn. As we saw in the first reading, two accusers are required to condemn a person under the law.
The story continues that after his second set of writings in the dust, the group gathered to stone the woman; “went away one by one, beginning with the elders.” Even, or more importantly first, the elders left. No one was without sin. In the closing statement Jesus does something unexpected. He does not judge the woman either; rather he tells her to go and sin no more emphasizing that Jesus came into the world not to judge it but through his presence save it.
CCC: Jn 8:2 583
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Homily:
From a faith perspective, we are in the homestretch of our Lenten journey. Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and then the intensity of Holy Week culminating with the great Easter Triduum. Each of the last four weeks I have been meeting on Thursday nights with a group of parishioners to talk about the Gospels from each Sunday of Lent and what they ask of us. There has been an interesting discussion developing around the tension between forgiveness and justice. On the one hand, we are called to forgive, even our enemies. On the other, we recognize that forgiveness without correction does the person who commits the wrong no good. It does not allow them to understand that they have done wrong – committed a sin – and thereby helping them turn away from sin in the future.
In the Gospel story of the adulterous woman, we see Jesus confront those who were, while strictly following Jewish law, anxious to have Jesus condemn the woman to death by stoning, violating a more sacred law that protects life. The Lord refuted the idea. He did so in a way that it did not diminish the dignity of any of those involved. Above all Jesus is merciful and loves all of God’s creation (a thought echoed in the first reading from Isaiah).
The Lord simply bent down and started writing on the ground. We presume, because of Jewish law, he started by writing the sins of the persons bringing the charge. It would have been their responsibility to throw the first stone. Whatever was written must have stopped those accusers because that first stone was never thrown. Others continued to press him. (This, of course, was a trap the leadership had hoped would allow them to go after Jesus. If he challenged the death sentence, he would have blasphemed against Mosaic Law and opened himself to the same punishment – stoning. If he agreed with the sentence he would have contradicted his own teachings about loving all peoples, even sinners.)
Jesus began writing a second time. We can again assume that this time he was writing the sins of the Jewish leaders who were present. One by one the accusers left, leaving Jesus alone with the woman. He turned to her and said the words that were no doubt the forerunner of the phrase we hear when we are participating in the sacrament of reconciliation: “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The Lord, being in essence, God, needed only to say: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
At once the Lord forgave the woman and absolved her of her sins. This also would have satisfied Jewish law since an accusation must be brought by two individuals before the judge. With no accusers, there would have been no act of punishment.
All of this seems pretty straight forward does it not? Jesus commands us to forgive others. We profess that truth each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The Lord also told us, through his commissioning of the Apostles: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” I commanding this action, the Lord gave his apostles the authority to forgive sins, for indeed, in baptism, all sins are forgiven. Christ does this in an unqualified way.
Now let’s ask this question: Jesus has asked us to forgive others who wrong us. What would your response be if a person cut you off in traffic? Could you forgive them? I suspect most people would say yes without much hesitation. Now we ask was justice done in that situation. Yes, we forgave the reckless driver, but did that person recognize the sin they committed?
Let’s ask the same kind of question now, but instead of having an anonymous transgressor, lets say the person was known to you, say a distant cousin, and the crime was more immediate; you caught your cousin stealing money from your wallet. Same questions: could you forgive your cousin? Again, most of us would say yes. It’s only money. But now you can do more. Now you have caught your cousin in the act. What do you do? Would you reprimand them, take the money back and tell them not to do that again? Turn them in to the police? Physically assault them?
The point is, how do we balance forgiveness and justice. We are commanded to forgive but we are also asked to offer all we meet the Gospel, a path to heaven. It becomes a very personal decision and one we cannot take lightly. How we forgive and respond must be something that comes from our faith and understanding of our Lord and what he would have us do. Recall, he also drove the money changers from the temple.
The story of the woman caught in adultery is one that shows the wisdom, compassion and mercy of Christ. He corrected the accusers by pointing out that they too had sinned. He averted a cruel punishment and then absolved the woman, telling her to sin no more. May we find the same wisdom when we are confronted by the challenge of balancing forgiveness and Justice.
Pax
In other years on April 7th : The Memorial of Saint John Baptist De La Salle, Priest
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “Christ and the Adulterous Woman” by Pieter van Lint, c. 1640.
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