Fifth Sunday of Lent

Reading I
Is 43:16-21

Thus says the LORD,
who opens a way in the sea
and a path in the mighty waters,
who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out and quenched like a wick.
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.
Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and ostriches,
for I put water in the desert
and rivers in the wasteland
for my chosen people to drink,
the people whom I formed for myself,
that they might announce my praise.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion ,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.

Reading II
Phil 3:8-14

Brothers and sisters:
I consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having any righteousness of my own based on the law
but that which comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God,
depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

It is not that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, I for my part
do not consider myself to have taken possession.
Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind
but straining forward to what lies ahead,
I continue my pursuit toward the goal,
the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus.

Gospel
Jn 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."

 Commentary

It is interesting that in today’s First Reading, the people of Israel are told to forget about past events, yet the prophet seems to be speaking about the events that unfolded during the Exodus from Egypt during the time of Moses. In reality, the prophet is speaking of new events that are taking place as a result of the Jewish captivity in Babylon . Just as God delivered them out of the slavery of Egypt and made them into a mighty nation, so will God again deliver them from this captivity. This new beginning must be different, Israel must remain faithful.

 In the Second Reading, Paul tells the Philippians that because of his deep experience in Christ, his life has been totally transformed and his values have been put in check. For Paul, to know Christ is to experience a deep and personal relationship that can transform us into the likeness of Christ, and this means participating in Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. Paul argues that we are made perfect when we become Christlike and he believes this is possible to do in this life and should be the goal of the Philippians. Just as an athlete will not look back but keep focused on the prize, so must we.

 The story of the woman caught in adultery from today’s Gospel is in fact a “trap” set for Jesus by his enemies. The book of Deuteronomy stipulates stoning for a variety of crimes, including adultery. However, according to John 18:31, the Jews had no right to inflict capital punishment under Roman Law. The problem thus presented to Jesus would, in the minds of his enemies, require him to reject either the Law of Moses or the authority of Rome .

 Jesus appears to ignore their request and begins to write on the ground. The woman’s accusers continue to insist on an answer from Jesus. His response is totally unexpected and he then returns to writing on the ground. His response results in their abandoning their accusation and silent retreat. Once again those who set a trap for Jesus have failed. Once all the accusers have left, Jesus makes it clear that he does not accuse her for her past. He does, however caution her not to sin again.  It is unclear what Jesus was writing on the ground and the evangelist makes no reference to any specifics. However, the mere insertion of this act into the story appears to have a specific purpose of which we are not aware. Many have suggested that Jesus was writing the sins of the accusers on the ground thus indicting them as well.

 Reflection

Sacred Scripture has the tendency to present several sides to every story. It is much like being on trial. The prosecution will always argue that the law has been broken in some way or another, and usually seeks out the most sever punishment. The defense will argue on behalf of your innocence or negotiate "deals" with prosecutors. The judge will listen to both sides, interpret the law, render a decision or verdict, and impose a penalty. Imagine for a moment that you are accused of a crime and brought before a judge. The prosecution presents its case and suggests the penalty. You know what you did is wrong – you know you broke the law – and that the judge’s verdict will probably be severe. As you look down in despair you hear the judge ask the prosecution: “have you never broken a single law, even if it’s just running a stop sign on your way to work?” This would be to turn our system of law upside-down.

 In today’s Gospel story, that is precisely what Jesus does. The woman is not only accused of adultery, she has been caught in the very act. The law was clear, she must be stoned. Then Jesus without asking for any further evidence tells them that they can very well carry out the sentence as long as they have never committed a sin. Apparently, they knew all too well the secrets they hid in the depths of their soul and must have felt that Jesus was somehow looking into their soul. They all leave, declaring themselves guilty before Jesus. Through his actions, Jesus has defended the woman and declared all guilty. Being the only one who could have acted as judge, he does not: “Neither do I condemn you”.

 In a single story we are given an enormous view of God’s mercy. In the eyes of God no one can claim righteousness. Everyone is guilty; everyone has something to hide; everyone has sinned. However, in the eyes of God, everyone deserves mercy and forgiveness. There is only one catch: we must go and from now one not sin any more. We cannot undue the past but we can determine our future. If we are truly repentant, we will do everything possible to change our lives and sin no more. At the same time, we must learn to see others through the eyes of God – eyes of mercy and forgiveness because we need the same redemption and salvation others need. We cannot play judge when we ourselves need to be defended. As we approach the end of lent let us do so by putting ourselves in the place this woman sinner who has experienced God’s eternal mercy. More importantly, let us put ourselves in the place of those who were quick to pass judgment and who demanded punishment. In the end they were forced to reflect on their own lives. Their self-righteousness ended up as shame. Even so, neither were they condemned. God’s love and mercy is for everyone and his forgiveness is extended even to those who would refuse it. If names were to be given to the characters of this story who would bear my name?

 Biblical Sources

New American Bible; Brown, R. K., and Comfort, P. W. (trans.) and Douglas, J. D., (ed.) “The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament”; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Knight, G. A. E., “Servant Theology: Isaiah 40-55”; Seitz, C. (ed.), “Reading and Preaching the Book of Isaiah”; Stuhlmueller, C., “Creative Redemption in Deutero-Isaiah”; Getty, M. A., “Philippians and Philemon”; Houlden, J. L., “Paul’s Letters from Prison”; Barret, C. K., “The Gospel According to John”; Brown, R. E., “The Community of the Beloved Disciple”; Schnackenburg, R., “The Gospel According to John”; Segovia, F. F., “Love Relationships in the Johannine Tradition”; “The Collegeville Bible Commentary”; Brown, Raymond E., S.S., “Introduction to the New Testament”; Brown, Fitzmyer, and Murphy (ed.) “The New Jerome Biblical Commentary”.

 Reflection by

Deacon Lazaro J. Ulloa