African artist presented the clearest portrayal of the gospel scene.Fifth Sunday of Lent
March 25, 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ! We all have heard the gospel story many times. Most scripture scholars believe this was an event that occurred during Holy Week. It is important to remember this fact. Why? Because the bitterness toward Jesus was near a boiling point among those who would try to find any reason to arrest him. At night he would stay with friends outside the city. During the daylight hours he could be more prominent because he would be surrounded by his followers.
The event in the gospel seems contrived by the Scribes and Pharisees. They wanted so badly to trap Jesus in a kind of situation that would turn the people against him and they could arrest him and bring him to his death. So it was that they brought the woman who had been arrested for adultery.
Some history is important. Adultery was no light crime in the Jewish community. Death was the punishment. Why so? Because the sanctity of the family was a sacred belief in the minds and hearts of the Jewish people. It was, as it were, the door that opened to membership in God’s chosen people.
So, in their trickery, the Scribes and Pharisees brought this woman before Jesus to test both his kindness as well as, and more importantly to them, to test his respect for the Law that was so sacred to the people.
So they put the question to Jesus, even calling him "master:" Would you condemn her to death because of her immoral action? Surely a response to either the positive or negative would provide these authorities who bitterly hated Jesus with a way to arrest him.
What Jesus says is remarkable because his words did not condemn her nor did it afford himself or anyone the right to execute her. And so he began writing in the sand. Then he looked directly at her accusers and calmly said: "Let the person who is perfect cast the first stone." Without awaiting any response he continued to write in the sand.
What were the words? Probably words like stealing, defaming, lying, and sins that were even worse — remember there were some 600 sins that the Jewish people had to worry about! What he was writing, most likely the scholars tell us, were sins that the "holier than thou" hypocrites could easily claim as their own if they were honest. Nevertheless, it seems that from the oldest to the youngest the accusers turned away and left Jesus alone with the woman. No words of condemnation were heard; only "I will not condemn you. Go on with your life and do better."
Forever she would carry the scarlet letter around her neck. Perhaps she would find little comfort from a large number of people who considered themselves so much better than they considered her. Probably they did not consider themselves sinners like this woman. Many would think what I hear so often in the sacrament of reconciliation: "Oh, no sins, Father, just the ordinary things." Just the ordinary things: sins are sins and perhaps we have come of an age once again when we sin a more sophisticated manner: tearing our neighbors’ reputations apart with our gossip; perhaps we learn every possible way to "legally cheat" on our income taxes; perhaps we misuse what may have been entrusted to us. Perhaps we do wrongs that we consider "honorable" sins.
March 25, 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ! We all have heard the gospel story many times. Most scripture scholars believe this was an event that occurred during Holy Week. It is important to remember this fact. Why? Because the bitterness toward Jesus was near a boiling point among those who would try to find any reason to arrest him. At night he would stay with friends outside the city. During the daylight hours he could be more prominent because he would be surrounded by his followers.
The event in the gospel seems contrived by the Scribes and Pharisees. They wanted so badly to trap Jesus in a kind of situation that would turn the people against him and they could arrest him and bring him to his death. So it was that they brought the woman who had been arrested for adultery.
Some history is important. Adultery was no light crime in the Jewish community. Death was the punishment. Why so? Because the sanctity of the family was a sacred belief in the minds and hearts of the Jewish people. It was, as it were, the door that opened to membership in God’s chosen people.
So, in their trickery, the Scribes and Pharisees brought this woman before Jesus to test both his kindness as well as, and more importantly to them, to test his respect for the Law that was so sacred to the people.
So they put the question to Jesus, even calling him "master:" Would you condemn her to death because of her immoral action? Surely a response to either the positive or negative would provide these authorities who bitterly hated Jesus with a way to arrest him.
What Jesus says is remarkable because his words did not condemn her nor did it afford himself or anyone the right to execute her. And so he began writing in the sand. Then he looked directly at her accusers and calmly said: "Let the person who is perfect cast the first stone." Without awaiting any response he continued to write in the sand.
What were the words? Probably words like stealing, defaming, lying, and sins that were even worse — remember there were some 600 sins that the Jewish people had to worry about! What he was writing, most likely the scholars tell us, were sins that the "holier than thou" hypocrites could easily claim as their own if they were honest. Nevertheless, it seems that from the oldest to the youngest the accusers turned away and left Jesus alone with the woman. No words of condemnation were heard; only "I will not condemn you. Go on with your life and do better."
Forever she would carry the scarlet letter around her neck. Perhaps she would find little comfort from a large number of people who considered themselves so much better than they considered her. Probably they did not consider themselves sinners like this woman. Many would think what I hear so often in the sacrament of reconciliation: "Oh, no sins, Father, just the ordinary things." Just the ordinary things: sins are sins and perhaps we have come of an age once again when we sin a more sophisticated manner: tearing our neighbors’ reputations apart with our gossip; perhaps we learn every possible way to "legally cheat" on our income taxes; perhaps we misuse what may have been entrusted to us. Perhaps we do wrongs that we consider "honorable" sins.
The woman in the story probably carried her sin with her throughout her life. No doubt she was mentally tortured by her failure, her sin. But she did own up to it. She did not try to cover it in sheep skins to hide it. She was not afraid to own up to her sins. As painful and tortuous as her sinful past might have been for her, there was one memory that would always bring a picture of peace to her expression. What was that? Simply that Jesus Christ, Son of God, whom she would learn very shortly had risen from the grave, had given her a second chance at earning her place in the kingdom of heaven. She knew that he was waiting there for her! She did not have to be duplicitous like the Scribes and Pharisees.And so, this story poses a very difficult question for all of us: are we honest when we examine our consciences? Do we face the truth of our lives, accepting honestly what we have done without trying to hide it within some lame, human excuse?
