Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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.”
Go, and do not sin any more
1. The mount. Jesus seeks silence to listen to the Father. You must find your time of silence to be able to listen. Whoever listens is ready to live life in a different way because prayer clarifies your life and illuminates it. Take your time to meet with God and with yourself. Give yourself that opportunity to become aware that you have been found by God and speak with Him in silence. Decisions are the product of an intimate silence, that’s where one finds the voice of clarity. Maybe today at some point you can sit down and listen to God and to yourself through 10 or 15 minutes of silence. Be quiet for a moment so that He can speak to you, and you can hear your inner voice and God’s whisper.
2. Stone. This is the Pharisaical attitude that we all have, when we condemn our brothers or sisters and kill them by stoning them, stoning with the judgement in our eyes, with our tongues or with our indifference. The only difference between this sinful woman and the Pharisees is that her sin had been visible, theirs was not. You and I judge people, or they judge us, but what’s the difference? Some people have a notorious sin, and yours might not be visible. Nowadays there’s a kind of witch hunt in society. We judge everyone; we grant ourselves the authority to condemn everyone on the networks. We mercilessly judge and attack whoever we want with comments on social media, and neither Catholics nor non-Catholics escape from this. How many of us think we are the owners of the truth and judge everyone, and how difficult it is to live like this! I believe that media and social condemnation today are faster than justice. That can bring great bitterness to people and society. This woman was condemned by men before God’s verdict.
3) I don’t condemn you. How difficult it is to see life as Jesus sees it! He rescues the condemned and “stoned” person. In Jesus the woman finds an opportunity to change, because that’s what this Lenten season is all about. Many times, society has stoned you, they have put you in the middle and begun to destroy you with their tongue, they have left you aside because of your weakness. Today Jesus gives you an opportunity, He comes to lift you up and tell you to walk with your head held high because the key to life is not that you don’t fall down, it’s getting up after each fall. You must recognize yourself as a forgiven sinner, loved by God. Jesus always gives you the opportunity to change, the issue is that you must want to change. Give yourself a chance, because Jesus always gives you a chance to get up from all your falls, and to overcome other people’s judgment so that it doesn’t imprison you in a life without hope. Always remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and keep you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
