Fifth Sunday in Lent yr c

Theme
Like last Sundays gospel, todays gospel makes a very clear statement of where Jesus stands
relative to sin and to sinners. It is the story of the woman taken in adultery. Jesus does not
condemn her, but he adds Go and sin no more. In other words, while not approving of the sin,
he very definitely refuses to condemn the sinner. Once again, we come up against the conflict
between the love of God, and the demands of the law. According to the law, this woman should
be stoned to death. From Gods point of view, however, its just not as simple as that. If the law
was fair and consistent, then there should have been a man condemned to death as well,
because she wasnt committing adultery on her own! One of the more precious nuggets in
todays gospel is the challenge to the others about whether any of them was in a position to
condemn her, or anyone else. There is a powerful message in todays gospel.
Teaching
Law, in itself, is good and necessary, but its only purpose is to protect from harm. For example, it
is wrong to drive down the main street of a town at ninety miles an hour, except one is driving a
vehicle involved in some emergency service. Law is there to protect, not to control. The religious
leaders of Jesus day used the law almost exclusively as a method of control. In the past, the
church has been guilty of the same misuse of law, but, thankfully, that is changing today.
However, we still have a long way to go until love takes precedence over law within the
structures of the church.
The gospel tells us that Jesus was writing with his finger in the dust. We dont know what he was
writing, but it is reasonable to assume that he was signifying the need to update the law, and
write something new. The writing in the dust wouldnt last long, because the first gust of wind
would totally obliterate it. The woman standing beside him was more important than any written
words, and the law of God that is written within the hearts of all Gods creatures is something
that will never be blown away. I sometimes think that, perhaps, writing in the dust was Jesus
way of letting them know that he wasnt about to take them too seriously. They had come to him,
in the first place, because they were anxious to get him to do or say something that would trip
him up, and give them an excuse to condemn him. He wasnt going to play their game, but, as
they insisted, he turned on them and treated them as they rightly deserved. The kind and
compassionate Jesus could easily be stirred into resounding condemnation by the trickery and
hypocrisy of those whose only love was power and authority.
Guilt is not from God. In the last book of the Bible, called the Book of Revelations, or the
Apocalypse, we are told that Satan is the accuser of our people. He accuses them night and day
before our God. In todays gospel Jesus says neither do I condemn you, and in another place he
says that he had not come to condemn the world, but to save it. Guilt is a very dangerous
emotion. A leading psychiatrist said some years ago that he could discharge two-thirds of his
patients that day if he could get them deal with their guilt. Most of the guilt has its origins in
religion, because of the inability of weak human nature to strictly adhere to thousands of
regulations, rules, and commandments. We sin because we are weak, not because we are evil. It
is ironic that, in todays gospel, and in many other passages of the gospel, Jesus accuses the
religious leaders of their legalism, hypocrisy, and sham; while telling a prostitute or a public
sinner I do not condemn you. Our church has not been good in this area, and many of us grew
up in a church where sinners were condemned off the altar, were threatened with hell fire, and
were even excluded from church altogether. If some unfortunate person, because of a brainstorm, or a total inability to cope, committed suicide, such a person was excluded from a church
funeral. It is amazing just how far we wandered from the simple message, like the one in todays
gospel.
Response

I can place myself in the presence of any one of the people in todays gospel. I am the woman
being stoned to death. I, too, have broken Gods law, and, perhaps, some of the laws of the land.
She is deserted because only those who really love us will stick by us when the going gets tough.
She is like a fox with the hounds baying at her heels. She is like one of those in a scene from a
Wild West movie, who is going to be lynched by the mob. If she committed adultery, then where
is the man she was with? For every unmarried mother in our society, there is an unmarried
father. We know nothing at all about her background, her upbringing, or the circumstances of her
life. If we take time out to think, however, we might be able to look out through her eyes, and
see life from her perspective. There but for the grace of God go I is a very wise saying indeed.
I may well be among those who are ready to stone her to death. She doesnt fit into my
expectations of what a person should be. She is different from me, and it is not very likely that
she could ever be persuaded to see things my way. One of us has to be wrong, and it certainly
cannot be me. Pride is a very frightening and destructive thing. It allows for no opinion but ours,
and of no way of being, belonging, and behaving than what we accept as normal. It is truly
frightening when one human being sits in judgement on another, when the only crime is that one
is different from the other. We have laws of the land, and we have legal systems. When
administered fairly, they give equal rights and protection to the accused and to the accuser. Even
this is fraught with danger, and we have all witnessed examples of where justice was not seen to
be done. That included innocent people being condemned to lengthy periods in prison, but it has
also included a guilty person walking free. Most of us are not involved in the legal profession. We
all, however, can easily put ourselves on the seat of judgement, and become judge, jury, and
executioner for someone whom we dont really know, and about whom we certainly dont have
all the facts. Judge not and you will not be judged, condemn not, and you will not be condemned
is the simple instruction of Jesus to his followers. If I am compassionate, I will receive
compassion, and the measure which I mete out to others is the measure I myself will receive in
return. Judgement of others is a luxury most of us cant afford. If anyone among you has not
sinned, let that person throw the first stone.
The other person I can be in the story is Jesus. That is a choice I have in life. The moment I begin
to be Jesus to others, I will begin to see Jesus in others. My Christian vocation faces me with the
same question in each and every situation : What would Jesus himself do in a situation like this?
That is my term of reference, and his teachings are my guidelines. Again and again, it is
important to stress that, by myself, I just dont have what it takes to treat others as Jesus would
treat them. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. The same Spirit who came upon Mary, upon
Jesus, and upon the Apostles in the upper room. Only God can do a God-thing. To err is human, to
forgive is divine. Without the power of Gods Spirit in my heart, I havent a hope of ever
becoming a Christian, of ever having a forgiving heart, or of ever overcoming that pride,
arrogance, and self-righteousness that bedevil us all.
Practical
There are many practical lessons to be drawn from todays gospel. All judgement belongs to God.
There are times, because of responsibilities I have in life, when I have to form opinions, and
express opinions about people for whom I am responsible. This is very different from sitting in
judgement on someone, when their behaviour is none of my business. There is an Indian prayer
which goes something like this : Lord, please dont let me judge my brother until I have walked a
mile in his moccasins. Live, and let live is a very good slogan to guide me.
Quite often what annoys me about others is when their behaviour reflects weaknesses I myself
possess. When you point a finger at another, you are pointing three fingers at yourself. If you
could imagine a slide projector in your head, and it projects onto the face of others the very
weaknesses and failures that you yourself experience. That is the wonderful spiritual dimension
of movements like Alcoholics Anonymous, where the alcoholic can enter a room full of people,
and be absolutely sure of empathy, compassion, and total understanding. The whole recovery
programme is dependent on the healing that results from the non-judgemental acceptance of
others. As human beings, we all could benefit from being in such a recovery programme,

because, like alcohol, life itself is something over which we are powerless, and which we are
unable to manage.
As you come before the Lord today, put yourself in the place of the woman in the story. It is quite
possible that much of the condemnation is coming from within yourself. We can often be our own
most rigid and intolerant judges. If I cannot forgive myself, I will probably not be too generous in
my forgiveness of others. I often imagine that, before I am really ready to celebrate the
Sacrament of Reconciliation(Confession), I should be willing to look at myself in the mirror, and
give myself absolution first, before coming to the Lord for forgiveness. Otherwise I am asking
God to do something that I myself am unwilling to do.
Story
A woman brought her daughter to Mahatma Ghandi one time, asking him to place his hand on
her head, to recite a prayer over her, and to free her from an addiction she had. Ghandi asked
what the addiction was, and the mother said that her daughter was addicted to sweet things, like
sugar, sweets, sweet cakes, etc. Ghandi thought for a while, and he then asked the mother to
bring her daughter home, and to return one month later. This seemed strange, but the mother
did what she was asked. One month later, she arrived with her daughter. Ghandi placed his hand
on the young girls head, prayed a prayer over her, and he then told the mother to bring her
daughter home, because, from now on, everything would be OK. The mother, more puzzled than
annoyed, asked Ghandi why he was able to do something this day, and not on the previous
occasion. Ghandi smiled, as he told the mother that, up to one month ago, he, too, was very fond
of sweet things!