Daily Reflection – Mar 13, 2016
Sunday 13 March 2016
First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
Responsorial Psalm:
The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy
Psalm 125(126)
Second Reading: Philippians 3:8-14
Gospel Reading: John 8:1-11
Today’s Note: Fifth Sunday of Lent
Gospel Reading:
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.”
Reflection:
Let the one among you who is guilty cast the first stone.
In today’s Gospel, the Scribes and Pharisees, the accusers, draw attention away from their own sins and their own need for conversion, as they made a scapegoat of a women caught in adultery. Jesus knew the challenge lay in casting the first stone. Once that had happened they would have all joined in, like a lynch mob. The tactic worked, and they all went away leaving Jesus with the woman. When Jesus straightened up he would have looked the woman in the eye and she would have seen the look of one who loved without judgment. She must have been empowered by that love and called to respond. Jesus asked the woman to go away and sin no more. May we hear this challenge today and stop the destructive things that get us into trouble. May we admit our faults and work to heal them. Then we will be free to follow where Jesus calls us.
