by Fr. Tommy Lane
On the first Sunday of Lent each year, the Gospel is about Jesus in the desert for forty days. That struggle between good and evil reaches its climax in the death of Jesus. On the second Sunday of Lent each year, the Gospel is Jesus’ transfiguration which foreshadows Jesus’ victory over evil in his resurrection. The Gospels for the third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent have one theme, repeated every three years. This year it is repentance and conversion. (Year A, baptism; Year B, Jesus' Passion and Death; Year C, repentance and conversion) Two Sundays ago we heard about the fig tree given more time to produce fruit (Luke 13:1-9) and we are that tree given more time. Last Sunday we heard about the prodigal son returning home after repenting. His elder brother also needed to repent because he refused to go into the house for the welcome party hosted by the father (Luke 15). Obviously, there is also repentance and conversion needed in the Gospel today (John 8:1-11).
The woman in today’s Gospel is trapped but the scribes and Pharisees only trapped her because they really wanted to trap Jesus. She was the means they were using to “get Jesus.” When Jesus heard the accusation the scribes and Pharisees brought against the woman, and their question about whether she should be stoned, he remained silent. He did not condemn her or add to her suffering and guilt. Jesus remained silent, while at the same time he wrote on the ground. We don’t know what he wrote.
The scribes and Pharisees continued to question Jesus about what to do, and Jesus stood up and said, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7) A second time Jesus wrote on the ground. Again, we do not know what Jesus wrote, but since the scribes and Pharisees began to go away one by one, beginning with the eldest, many speculate that Jesus wrote the sins of the scribes and Pharisees on the ground.
Then only Jesus and the woman remained. Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Despite her past, Jesus showed her the greatest respect. Jesus did not condemn her. Jesus freed her from her past and freed her from the accusations of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus called her to conversion and repentance. He freed her to live a new life, a life without sin. He freed her to be her best self. That is what God wants for all of us, to be our best self. God wants us to have a beautiful life, and a beautiful life is life lived under God, guided by God and his commandments, and living our faith. Lent is a gift and grace given us by God to become free from anything that hinders us from living by God’s commandments. Lent is the time to receive Jesus’ mercy and begin again, and we will have lots of opportunities for confession during Holy Week. In confession, you receive the forgiveness from Jesus through the priest. In confession, you receive the absolution from Jesus through the priest. I find these words by Pope Francis helpful.
God always shows us
the greatness of his mercy. He gives us the strength to go forward.
He is always with us in order to help us go forward. He is a God who
loves us so very much. He loves us and that is why he is with us, to
help us, to strengthen us, to help us go forward. Courage! Always
forward! Thanks to his help, we can always begin again. How? Begin
again from scratch. Someone might say to me, “No, Father, I did so
many reprehensible things . . . I am a great sinner . . . I cannot
begin from scratch!” You are wrong! You can begin from scratch. Why?
Because he is waiting for you, he is close to you, he loves you, he
is merciful, he forgives you, he gives you the strength to begin
again from scratch! Everybody! (The Joy
of Discipleship page 37, a collection
of writings by Pope Francis on various aspects of discipleship, which is an excerpt of
Pope Francis’ Sunday Angelus Address, December 15, 2013
The prodigal son repented in last Sunday’s Gospel, but as the Gospel ended his elder brother was still outside the house sulking and refusing to go in and join the party for his brother who had been lost and was now found. As the parable ended, the prodigal son had repented but we don’t know if his elder brother repented. As today’s Gospel ends, not only the woman, but the elder son of today’s Gospel so to speak, the scribes and Pharisees, are also changed after meeting Jesus. They came to trap Jesus while terrorizing the woman and were apparently oblivious to their own sins. But they went away humbled, aware of their sins, no longer trying to trap Jesus, and no longer wanting to harm the woman. If they had stones in their hands, they had now dropped those stones. Jesus freed the woman but also freed them to be their better selves. Jesus wants you to be free from sin to be your best self, to live guided by God’s commandments, living a beautiful life. I conclude with some words from Pope Francis again,
Begin again from
scratch. Someone might say to me, “No, Father, I did so many
reprehensible things . . . I am a great sinner . . . I cannot begin
from scratch!” You are wrong! You can begin from scratch. Why?
Because he is waiting for you, he is close to you, he loves you, he
is merciful, he forgives you, he gives you the strength to begin
again from scratch! Everybody! (The
Joy of Discipleship page 37, which is an excerpt of
Pope Francis' Sunday Angelus Address, December 15, 2013
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2022
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C
Do not throw stones at others 2013
Transformation during Lent 2010
Related Homilies: Jesus' Mercy
Jesus' words to St. Faustina about the Sacrament of Reconciliation
stories about God’s Mercy
stories about confession of sin
stories about sin