We are in the Fifth
Sunday of Lent. The first reading of today is a poem that sings the mighty works
of God in Exodus and announces new things that would be unleashed in New Jerusalem.
In the old exodus, God’s people were saved and the opponents of God’s people
were defeated and killed. In the new exodus, both God’s people and the opponents
of God’s people would be saved through reconciliation. This is a new promise that
is foretold in the first reading (Is 43:19). Old promise demanded the follow up
of law (Law of Moses) but new promise unleashes God’s unconditional forgiveness
(forgive not seven times but seventy-seven times – Mt 18:22). Jesus, the New
Moses unleashes this unconditional forgiveness of God in today’s gospel (Jn
8:1-11).
The Scribes
and Pharisees bring a woman who had been caught in adultery to Jesus. This event
takes place at early morning in Jerusalem temple. Before this event, Jesus spent
the whole night in Mount of Olives – he must have spent the night in praying. On
the contrary, Scribes and Pharisees might have spent the night in finding an
adulterous woman for stoning her in the Morning. Now, they have all the right
to stone the adulterous woman whom they have caught, instead, they bring that adulterous
woman to Jesus to trap Him with His answers (Jn 8:6). The Law of Moses demands
stone to death for adultery. The law of colonizers (roman law) forbids Jews
from carrying out any execution of people on their own. If Jesus says no, He would be contradicting
the Law of Moses, if Jesus says yes, He would be contradicting the law of
romans. This is a real cunning trap of the Scribes and Pharisees. No wonder why
they were called as doctors of law! Jesus chooses silence over this trap but
their constant persistence makes Him to address the issue. Now, Jesus sets the
trap for Scribes and Pharisees in his reply. He tells the righteous among them
to stone her first (Jn 8:7). Their silence departure from that place shows that
none of them are righteous. Together with an adulterous woman all of them have
committed sin. In this very scene itself they all stand in guilty of three
sins:
1. Hypocrisy: They brought only the woman.
Where is a man who was involved in adultery with her? They have manipulated the
law. Who knows some of them also would have spent the night with her!
2. Malice: More than fulfilling the Law of
Jesus they are zealous in trapping Jesus, an innocent man with their question.
3. Low Moral Behaviour: Instead of
spending the early morning hour in the temple in prayer, they have engaged
themselves in executing a death. This is a low moral behaviour from the highly
educated (Scribe) and religious people (Pharisees).
The Scene also
proves that they have brought the sinful woman to a righteous person who can
condemn her. Jesus has no sin, He is righteous, He can stone her to death, but
he executes forgiveness. The sinners come with stones to execute death, but sinless
Jesus raises up with mercy to give life; His
forgiveness saves the life of the sinful woman and gives her another chance in
life. In the second reading, St. Pauls says that the following of law
cannot save anyone as no one is perfect to follow the law properly. To break
the law and to sin is human frailty. To be righteous one needs the dissolution
of law that points one’s failures. Jesus stands as a dissolutor of law who
makes us righteous by judging us from our weakness through His forgiveness. To sin
and to condemn the other as sinner, is human. To forgive and to recognize the weakness
of the other, is divine. Thanks to the Scribes and Pharisees in today’s gospel for
representing our human attitude in their deeds. Their hypocrisy, malice and low
morale stand ashamed in front of divine forgiveness. Jesus’ reply neither
condemns the sinful woman nor her opponents. His reply elicits reconciliation between
the sinful woman the accusing sinners. All of them realize their state as
sinners. The promise made in the first reading is being fulfilled in this scene
– reconciliation between God’s people and their opponents. On the one hand, the
sinful woman is given divine forgiveness. On the other hand, the Scribes and
Pharisees are catechized to seek divine forgiveness. On the one hand, the sinners
bring sinful woman. On the other hand, the sinless logos sends the sinful woman sinless.
In our life, we
are both sinners and condemners of sins. As we stand ashamed by our
condemnation of others, let us not run away like accusers in the gospel. Let us
stand like the sinful woman with hope. Let us wait for the gaze of Jesus to get
His forgiveness. Today’s gospel invites us to bring our sins with our own
accusations to the sacrament of reconciliation and elicit His forgiveness. As
we get close to the holy week and the celebration of the paschal mystery, let
us make it a point to do a good confession.
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