TRAPPING THE TRAPPERS

 

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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