Justice and Mercy; Do not judge others; God will always welcome us back

John 8:1–11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus,

“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

But when they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Music Meditations

Come Back to me—John Michael Talbot
I Have Loved You With an Everlasting Love—Chris Brunelle
Turn to Me—Chris Brunelle
It Is Well—Audrey Assad
Pie Jesu—Sarah Brightman

Opening Prayer

Jesus, your words: “I do not condemn you” are meant for me as well. So often I have gone over and over mistakes I have made, wrongs I have committed, reflecting on those I have hurt or failed in some way. So often I have found myself wanting. So often I have been accusatory of those around me because they failed to meet my standards, which I assume are everybody’s standards. Help me to believe your words of compassion and help me to extend those very same words of compassion, whether spoken or unspoken to those who have made mistakes, even horrible ones. Open the eyes of my heart and allow me to feel your forgiveness for me, and allow me the grace to forgive those in my life against whom I hold grudges. Help me not to judge myself or others.

Companions for the Journey

This is a short writing from one of the Christian or non-Christian witnesses of our tradition—a person who embodies the theme of the gospel we are studying today.

The following is from John Harrington, S.J., in a back issue of America magazine, the national Jesuit publication:

The Sunday Gospel readings for this Lent have given particular attention to Jesus’ efforts to balance the justice and the mercy of God, the two great divine attributes in the biblical tradition. The narrative preserved in most manuscripts in John 8 (though it sounds like Luke) is set in the area of the Jerusalem temple where Jesus had been teaching. His opponents bring forward a woman caught in adultery. The penalty for such an offense was death by stoning. The opponents want to use the occasion to embarrass Jesus, since he had the reputation of proclaiming God’s mercy toward sinners. If he takes the side of the adulterous woman, he is open to the charge of ignoring God’s law and God’s justice. If he insists on following the Law exactly, his reputation as a prophet of God’s mercy will be open to question. This is the dilemma that the opponents construct for Jesus.

In John 8, Jesus most obviously manifests the mercy of God. Here is a lone woman caught in a serious sin punishable by death. Against her are male accusers with reputations for great learning and piety. And yet Jesus, the wise and merciful teacher, devises a way to get her out of the situation, to save her life and to let her begin over again. Thus he champions the mercy of God.

In manifesting the mercy of God, Jesus also upholds the justice of God. He does not reject the biblical commandment against adultery. Instead he stalls for time by doodling on the ground. Then he delivers a penetrating challenge, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” His challenge has the effect of turning the accusers’ attention back on themselves and making them realize that they too are sinners. It reduces them to silence and causes them to slink away in shame. By appealing to the justice of God and the injustice of humans, Jesus upholds God’s mercy.

In his parting words to the woman Jesus again manifests both mercy and justice. He first says to her, “Neither do I condemn you,” upholding the mercy of God. Then he adds, “From now on do not sin any more.” Jesus knows what sin is. He does not shrink from calling certain actions “sins.” He recognizes that some actions are inappropriate and offensive to the justice of God. He forgives the sinner but does not excuse or explain away the sin. Thus Jesus upholds the justice of God.

At this point in the Lenten season we may need to recognize and experience both God’s justice and God’s mercy. By confessing our sinfulness and determining to avoid sin, we bear witness to the justice of God. By accepting the forgiveness of our sins and by determining to forgive those who have offended us, we bear witness to God’s mercy.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, do not sin any more.

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

The woman has no name, and has only been identified throughout history by her sin. Have I ever depersonalized another or a group, thinking of them only as bad, immoral, wrongheaded, users, bullies scofflaws, etc., and dismissed them as human beings?
The scribes and pharisees asked Jesus a question, expecting a certain answer. Can I listen to the voice of God even when it is something I did not expect or want to hear?
Have I, like the scribes and pharisees, been made aware of a personal fault or failing that makes me no better than those I am judging?
Has your heart and head ever been in conflict on an issue?
Have I ever expected censure, blame and/or punishment for something I did wrong or a mistake I made, and received only graciousness and understanding instead?
How did it feel?
We don’t know if the woman left and turned her life around. But what about us?
Shall we accept the forgiveness that Lent has made us aware that we need?
Shall we also accept the help God offers us so we can make the changes we know we need to make in our life patterns?
Have you ever been challenged for doing something wrong or gauche and exposed in front of others?
How did it make you feel?
Was the person who accused you a loved one or someone who was hostile to you?
Would that make a difference in your reaction?
Does the memory of being caught in an embarrassing situation (or worse) make you angry with your tormentors or more compassionate toward those who have been in similar situations?
Can you remember a time when a big mistake was not held against you?
Can you remember a time when you stood up for someone when everyone else was against him or her?
Do we remember something someone said to us that deeply affected us and made a change in our lives?
From “First Impressions”, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:
Is there a word we need to speak to someone that will set them free?
Do I think that showing mercy is an excuse for ignoring a wrong that has been done?
How would I describe God’s mercy to me?
This is an example of radical forgiveness—that is, Jesus freely offered forgiveness without the woman having to ask for it.
Have you ever extended forgiveness to someone who did not acknowledge that they did anything wrong or apologize?
Is it better to extend forgiveness privately in our hearts, or face to face with “the offender”?
Why is it that when we think of sin, the first thing that comes to mind is sexual sin?
Why did the people of Jesus time, and why does our own church treat sexual sin as somehow worse that many other kinds of sin?
Often religions have emphasized sexual sins over other sins. This lets a lot of us ignore the biggest sin of all—putting ourselves at the center of the universe.
Have I ever demanded more than my share of the world’s or my family’s/friends’ attention?
Considering that the accusers, the scribes and pharisees, were all men, what does it say to us about the misogyny inherent in our history?
And considering that the man caught in adultery is nowhere to be found, nor even sought, what does reviling and punishing only the woman say about the even-handedness of “justice”?
Have I ever set myself up as a judge of another?
There are two behaviors most of us indulge in more often than any other behaviors: Judging others, and rationalizing our own behavior to ourselves and maybe to others. Of the two, which do I indulge in most often?
How do I keep from judging others?
From Catholic Bible Study on the Gospel of John by Gaetano Piccolo, S.J.:
What are the mirrors that I see myself reflected in?
What role to I play in my life’s drama: victim or prosecutor?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination:

I place myself in the events of that long-ago day, imagining the scene at the temple area of Jerusalem where people have gathered to hear Jesus preach. I picture the bright early morning, and I hear the sounds of all the people in that crowded area; I see the packed dirt on which Jesus is standing. Then I notice the little commotion as the scribes and Pharisees—the upright ones—drag in a woman who has broken the law of adultery. Is she someone’s wife? How was she discovered? Where is her partner in crime? As the scene plays out before my mind’s eye, I put myself in her place, imagining how I would feel if my worst sin were displayed for all to see. Then I notice Jesus writing something on the ground. What is it? Why do the accusers gradually fade away? Why does Jesus help me? When he says: “Tell me, has no one condemned you?” I answer “No one, Sir”. Jesus replies: “And neither do I. Go now and sin no more”. How does that make me feel?

From “Sacred Space” 2022:

Where do I stand in this scene: like the woman standing before her accusers? Like a silent sympathizer hoping that something will happen to save her? Like the skulking male adulterer who got her into trouble? Like the bystanders already collecting the best stones with a view to killing? Like the one of the elders who slinks away, unable to cast the first stone? What goes through my head as Jesus is doodling in the sand?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

This parable is one we can all relate to if we look beyond the story itself to the human behavior it reveals.

First, other people constantly show us a reflection of ourselves and reveal parts of ourselves that we are unconscious of or deliberately ignore. When this happens we are annoyed, embarrassed or we refuse their assessment. Has this ever happened to me? What about myself do I wish to hide from others, what about myself puts me on the defensive?

Second, what do I think Jesus wrote on the ground? We often project onto others those faults about which we are most ashamed. In what way is this woman a projection of all the men who surround her? In what way am I most annoyed by fault or behaviors in others which are may faults and behaviors as well?

Third, if we define adulterers as people who are unfaithful, can we exempt ourselves? In what everyday ways do we betray our relationships, our physical world, our vocations, life itself? What (money, power, fame) seduces us away from what we know to be the right way to be and live? What would Jesus write in the sand about me?

The scribes and pharisees wanted to make Jesus act as their judge and executioner. Unfortunately, that is sometimes how we view God. Our actions and relationship are often based in appeasement and fear. Instead, this gospel shows us a different understanding of God. Jesus invites us to be free to forgive ourselves because God does, not because we deserve it. Jesus invites us to be free of fear, guilt and open to the mercy and compassion of God. What fears and guilts do I need to be freed from?

Finally, I rest in the wonder of the mercy and love of God, resolving to offer to others the same understanding and forgiveness I have been given.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

By Father Paul O’Reilly, S.J. in “First Impressions” 2007:

I am going to ask you to think for a moment of the worst thing you have ever done, or failed to do. We all have at least one; most of us will have a few to choose from.
Something that I once did, that really hurt another human being;
…some kindness I could have done, but failed to do.
…the thing in my life that I am least proud of.
…the greatest failure.
…the greatest regret.
…the greatest lack of love.
…the one action or word I wish—I really wish—I could take back.
It may be in how I treated my parents,
…or how I treated my family or my wife or husband.
It may be in how I lied
…or cheated
…or stole
…or how I betrayed a friend or a loved one.
I’d like to ask you to pick the very worst…
Let us all, just for one moment, think of that.

And then, I want you to imagine seeing that thing on the front page of every newspaper in the country
…perhaps with a photograph of you looking at your worst;
…the first item on every news bulletin on television or radio.
Imagine being the only subject of every conversation in every pub and bingo hall in the country.
When you walk down the street, people look at you and whisper; children point at you and laugh. And out of all that is said to you, there is nothing you can say in reply. Because every word of it is true.
That is what it is in our day to be a public Sinner. Not much has really changed since Jesus’ time.

But imagine, if you will, that there is someone to whom you go who knows you and who loves you;
…who knows what you have done and what you have failed to do,
…and who doesn’t say it’s OK, because it isn’t,
…but who understands that you are not the only one
…who understands that all have sinned and fallen short of the Kingdom of God
…and who can you give you back your self-respect.

That is what we call the sacrament of reconciliation.
That is the sacrament that Jesus gave to the woman caught in adultery.
If you haven’t been recently, I would like to recommend it to you.

Literary Reflection:

Consider the following poem by Rev. Ed. Ingebretzen (from To Keep From Singing). How does Jesus’ response to sin differ from the response of “the righteous”? Into which camp do I often fall?

“In the Center of Right”

The woman taken in adultery
faces the glee of the takers—
they leap upon her
like shoppers upon the prize.

She wears her fright
like the face on Veronica’s veil
as they toss their cage
of rectitude and certainty,

having caught at last
the lioness smelling of blood
trapped in the heat of love.

We are never safe, she and I—
unfaithful as cats in heat
in neighborhoods where dogs strain
with white, law-edged teeth.

From behind her eyes, encircled,
I catch a bit of her fear;
I feel in my bones the violence
come of being wrong, cornered
in the center of right.

Closing Prayer

From Lenten Longings: Seeing With God’s Eyes:

L: Our past hurts we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please heal them

L: Our past sins, we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please forgive them

L: Our prejudices we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please help us overcome them.

L: Our burdens we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please lift them

L: Seeds of our healing, we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please plant them.

L: Our efforts for justice and our desire to forgive we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please direct them.

L: Our small faith community we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please be our companion

L: Our time together we bring to you, Lord.
A: Please bless and transform it. Amen.

Weekly Reflections

Fifth Sunday in Lent, April 3, 2022