Fifth Sunday of Lent

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

“Christ and the Adulterous Woman”
by Pieter van Lint, c. 1640

Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible[3]
 
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)
 
Readings and Commentary:[4]
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 1 below.  A Cycle A is provided for those choosing this option.
 
Reading I: Isaiah 43:16-21
 
Thus says the LORD,
who opens a way in the sea
and a path in the mighty waters,
who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out and quenched like a wick.
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and ostriches,
for I put water in the desert
and rivers in the wasteland
for my chosen people to drink,
the people whom I formed for myself,
that they might announce my praise.
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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 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.
 
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
 
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
 
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
 
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
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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
 
Brothers and sisters:
I consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having any righteousness of my own based on the law
but that which comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God,
depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
It is not that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, I for my part
do not consider myself to have taken possession.
Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind
but straining forward to what lies ahead,
I continue my pursuit toward the goal,
the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.
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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. St Paul 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 Friars, in their view as the least of God’s children.
 
CCC: Phil 3:8-11 428; Phil 3:8 133; Phil 3:10-11 989, 1006; Phil 3:10 648
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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.”
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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:
 
“Thus says the LORD … see, I am doing something new!”
 
These words from the first reading from the book of the Prophet Isaiah should be a signal to us that something miraculous is about to happen.  Isaiah, speaking with the voice of “LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King” (v.15), has just reminded the people that God had saved them in the past, speaking of the exodus from Egypt and the salvation that resulted. The Hebrew people he is speaking to are in exile.  They have been conquered by the Babylonians and taken as slaves away from the land God gave to Moses.  This, they believe, was because Israel had fallen away from their faith in God.  Isaiah speaks out now giving them hope.  Something new is about to happen.  What follows scripture scholars perceive as a prophesy of the coming Messiah, not just a return from the exile.  Not just the joy of the return but the promise of everlasting peace.
 
In St. Paul’s address to Phillipi he says “not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God.” What Paul is saying here is a very existential view of the Law of Moses.  He is saying that under the strict interpretation of the law, he is found to be deep in sin, subject to the punishment that the ancient Hebrews felt lead to their exile, a punishment from God.  Paul sees it: “[s]ee, I am doing something new!”  Through our faith in Christ comes true forgiveness, a washing away of sins so that we are righteous, as if we had not sinned at all.  The Law of Moses would have demanded unceasing sacrifices; the blood of animals must have flowed from the temple in Jerusalem in rivers.  But Jesus comes, and his Sacred Blood is once and for all.
 
We come at last to the wonderful Gospel story from St. John, the story of the adulterous woman.  Our hearys must go out to this woman.  She is used by the Pharisees to try to trap Jesus between the Law of Moses and the law of the Romans.  She is brought to Jesus, we are told, in the temple.  She is probably dragged roughly through the crowd, exposing her to public shame which would have destroyed her reputation and made her outcast.  Even if she were innocent the damage to her was devastating.  These pious Jews, and we say this with sarcasm because by the act of destroying this woman so publicly they have already demonstrated their sinfulness, are intent on providing the Lord with a no-win situation.  They accuse the woman, saying she was caught in the very act of adultery. 
 
Under Mosaic Law, this offense was punishable by stoning the woman to death.  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. All that was needed for this sentence to be carried out was for two witnesses to state that she had been caught in adultery and she was as good as dead.  If the Lord had agreed, he would have satisfied Mosaic Law but violated Roman law which stated that only they (the Romans) could impose a death sentence.  If Jesus said she was innocent, he violated Mosaic Law and would be found guilty by the Hebrews and a heretic, providing a legal avenue for the Jews to have him killed.
 
The Gospel says Jesus stoops down and writes on the ground with his finger.  In a recent Bible study group, the first question asked by one of the attendees was: “What did he write?”  The answer is, “We can only speculate.  As old as I am, I was not there.”  But the fact that the required two witnesses were never produced would indicate that what Jesus wrote on the ground must have been a deterrent, perhaps listing the sins of the proposed witnesses.  The outcome was they never said a word and likely left the area, quickly. 
 
With the witnesses gone, the leaders of the Pharisees were still trying to press Jesus into falling for their trap.  His comment was telling. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he again he began writing on the ground, this time it is speculated that he was listing the sins of the leadership who like, the witnesses, left the area quickly.  With no one to accuse her, the woman was saved.
 
To the crowd in the temple area that witnessed the exchange, it would have been clear that this had been a ploy of the Pharisees who had challenged Jesus and the woman who had been humiliated was an innocent victim of their callousness.  She was saved from disgrace.  To the later Christian readers hearing the story would have cheered that the Lord had outwitted the Pharisees.  But what came next was the real heart of the story.
 
When all of the accusers had left the area, Jesus turned to the woman and stated the obvious, there were no more accusers, she was free.  Then the Lord spoke words that will sound very familiar to those of us who have received the sacrament of reconciliation: “Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
 
Forgiveness from God, something not possible before the coming of Christ.  Just like coming out of the baptismal bath, we are a new creation once more and like the woman accused of adultery, given a new start free from the stain of sin.  “See, I am doing something new!”
 
Our Lenten journey is quickly drawing to an end.  Next week we celebrate the Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem and our entry into the sacred time of Holy Week.  Today we have recalled the Lord’s great love and compassion for each of us, a love that is expressed visibly in the sacrament of reconciliation.  We are called to not only avail ourselves of the sacrament but to emulate the Lord’s love by forgiving those who have wronged us.  Forgiveness is the very heart of the Great Commandment to “Love God, and love one another.”
 
Pax
 
In other years on April 2^nd: Optional Memorial for Saint Francis of Paola, Hermit.

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[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.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] 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.