Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

During the Fifth Week of Lent (especially in cycles B and C when the Gospel of Lazarus is not read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent) optional Mass Texts are offered.

“Susanna and the Elders” (detail)
by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1647

Readings for Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62
 
In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim,
who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna,
the daughter of Hilkiah;
her pious parents had trained their daughter
according to the law of Moses.
Joakim was very rich;
he had a garden near his house,
and the Jews had recourse to him often
because he was the most respected of them all.
 
That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges,
of whom the Lord said, "Wickedness has come out of Babylon:
from the elders who were to govern the people as judges."
These men, to whom all brought their cases,
frequented the house of Joakim.
When the people left at noon,
Susanna used to enter her husband's garden for a walk.
When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk,
they began to lust for her.
They suppressed their consciences;
they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven,
and did not keep in mind just judgments.
 
One day, while they were waiting for the right moment,
she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only.
She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm.
Nobody else was there except the two elders,
who had hidden themselves and were watching her.
"Bring me oil and soap," she said to the maids,
"and shut the garden doors while I bathe."
 
As soon as the maids had left,
the two old men got up and hurried to her.
"Look," they said, "the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us;
give in to our desire, and lie with us.
If you refuse, we will testify against you
that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you."
 
"I am completely trapped," Susanna groaned.
"If I yield, it will be my death;
if I refuse, I cannot escape your power.
Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt
than to sin before the Lord."
Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her,
as one of them ran to open the garden doors.
When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden,
they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her.
At the accusations by the old men,
the servants felt very much ashamed,
for never had any such thing been said about Susanna.
 
When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day,
the two wicked elders also came,
fully determined to put Susanna to death.
Before all the people they ordered:
"Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah,
the wife of Joakim."
When she was sent for,
she came with her parents, children and all her relatives.
All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping.
 
In the midst of the people the two elders rose up
and laid their hands on her head.
Through tears she looked up to heaven,
for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly.
The elders made this accusation:
"As we were walking in the garden alone,
this woman entered with two girls
and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls.
A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her.
When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime,
we ran toward them.
We saw them lying together,
but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we;
he opened the doors and ran off.
Then we seized her and asked who the young man was,
but she refused to tell us.
We testify to this."
The assembly believed them,
since they were elders and judges of the people,
and they condemned her to death.
 
But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."
 
The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him, "What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."
 
Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."
 
After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him,
"Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you,
lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."
 
The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62
 
The story of Susanna and the Elders is one of three stories that now exist only in Greek. Neither this story nor the stories of "Bel and the Dragon" (Daniel 14) and "The prayer of Azariah" (Daniel 3:24ff) are included in the Hebrew canon but have always been included by the Church.
 
This story is one of justice and the application of Mosaic Law.  Mosaic Law states in Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:5 that two witnesses must corroborate testimony against one charged. The innocent Susanna is rescued by the hero of the book, Daniel. In demanding the law be followed scrupulously, he rescues Susanna and expunges wickedness.
 
Within the story we find Susanna and her family likely intended to represent Israel. The two elders may have some link with the two false prophets who committed adultery and who are denounced in Jeremiah 29:21-23. The point is clearly made that what leads them astray is lust. A work attributed to St John Chrysostom comments on this passage: "If no passion undermines and corrupts it, the soul will remain clean and unstained. But if he does not guard his eyes, and looks at whatever he wants around him in the world, […] the poison of desire will enter through a man's sight and strike to the bottom of his heart; and he who was once a sober and modest man will be overwhelmed by a whirlwind of passions" (De Susanna, col. 591).[4]
 
-------------------------------------------
OR
Shorter Form: Daniel 13:41c-62
 
The assembly condemned Susanna to death.
 
But Susanna cried aloud:
"O eternal God, you know what is hidden
and are aware of all things before they come to be:
you know that they have testified falsely against me.
Here I am about to die,
though I have done none of the things
with which these wicked men have charged me."
 
The Lord heard her prayer.
As she was being led to execution,
God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel,
and he cried aloud:
"I will have no part in the death of this woman."
All the people turned and asked him,
"What is this you are saying?"
He stood in their midst and continued,
"Are you such fools, O children of Israel!
To condemn a woman of Israel without examination
and without clear evidence?
Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her."
 
Then all the people returned in haste.
To Daniel the elders said,
"Come, sit with us and inform us,
since God has given you the prestige of old age."
But he replied,
"Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them."
 
After they were separated one from the other,
he called one of them and said:
"How you have grown evil with age!
Now have your past sins come to term:
passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent,
and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says,
‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.'
Now, then, if you were a witness,
tell me under what tree you saw them together."
"Under a mastic tree," he answered.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you your head,
for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him
and split you in two."
Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought.
Daniel said to him, "Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah,
beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience.
This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel,
and in their fear they yielded to you;
but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness.
Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together."
"Under an oak," he said.
Daniel replied, "Your fine lie has cost you also your head,"
for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two
so as to make an end of you both."
 
The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
They rose up against the two elders,
for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury.
According to the law of Moses,
they inflicted on them
the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor:
they put them to death.
Thus was innocent blood spared that day.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Dn 13:41c-62
 
The shorter version omits all that led up to the trial and conviction of Susanna. In doing so, this shorter form requires the reader to infer, based upon the final verdict, the injustice being plotted by the wicked elders. Daniel, now a judge raised up by God to protect the innocent, not a seer or interpreter of dreams, intervenes to rescue Susanna and demonstrate the justice of Mosaic Law.
 
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
R. (4ab) Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
 
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
 
Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar songs in the entire psalter. “God's loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Psalm 23:1-4) and a host's generosity toward a guest (Psalm 23:5-6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Isaiah 40:11; 49:10; Jeremiah 31:10).”[5] While the theme of Shepherd is mentioned in the first strophe, the psalm really speaks to the peace given to those who follow the Lord and place their trust in Him, even into the “dark valley.”
 
The reference in the third strophe above: “'You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes' occurs in an exodus context in Psalm 78:19. As my enemies watch: my enemies see that I am God's friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Psalm 104:15; Matthew 26:7; Luke 7:37, 46; John 12:2).”[6]
 
CCC: Ps 23:5 1293
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: John 8:1-11
 
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
"Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?"
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
"Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her."
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
"Woman, where are they?
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 any more."
-------------------------------------------
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
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
 
Today we ask a rhetorical question: what do you suppose Jesus wrote on the ground with his finger?  The stage is set.  Jesus is in the temple area teaching.  The religious leaders who have been looking for a means by which he could be arrested decide to set a fool-proof trap for him; they bring him a woman who has been convicted of adultery and sentenced to death under the Law of Moses (would you prefer strangulation or stoning?). 
 
The logic of the scribes and Pharisees was that if Jesus, well known for his mercy and forgiveness, pardoned her; he would have gone against the Law of Moses and they would have grounds to arrest him.  If he condemned her, they would lay her death at his feet, just as the death of St. Stephen was laid at the feet of Saul (St. Paul): “They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul “(Acts 7:58).
 
Instead of taking either side, guilt or innocence, Jesus begins writing on the ground with his finger.  What, we wonder, did he write?  There has been much speculation about this.  The most common belief is that he was writing the sins committed by the woman’s accusers – the witnesses against her.  The details of what those sins may have been are not recorded.  The results, however, were that those who attempted to defeat Jesus left.
 
The lesson of forgiveness is hammered home in the final verses of the passage as the Lord neither condemns the woman nor condones her actions.  Under the Law of Moses, for a person to be found guilty of a crime, two witnesses must testify to the guilt of the accused (an image nicely offered in the story of Susanna and the elders from Daniel).  In this case, there were none left and the woman was free to go.  Was she guilty of adultery?  No statement of guilt or innocence is mentioned. (It is interesting, however, that this story is described as “The Story of the Adulterous Woman” implying a presumption of guilt.)
 
The next time we feel as though someone has wronged us and presume to punish them with angry words or legal action, let us envision the Lord calmly stooping down to write in the dirt with his finger.  We as Christians are called to a forgiveness that the Lord died for.  Can we do less for others?
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Susanna and the Elders” (detail) by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn 1647.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible: “Major Prophets” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 873.
[5] NAB footnote on Psalm 23.
[6] Ibid.