5th Sunday of Lent 2025 - (Year C) - "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more"

 

This week we celebrate the last Sunday of Lent prior to Palm Sunday next week which begins Holy Week.

And our Scripture readings today raise some pretty important concepts as we prepare for the week called Holy, our Gospel particularly: the dramatic scene of Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees who have brought before him a woman caught in the act of adultery.

Firstly, notice the peculiar nature of this scenario. The woman was supposedly "caught in the very act of adultery." But adultery, by its nature, involves two people. Where, then, is the man involved? The law of Moses clearly required both parties to be held accountable. Leviticus 20:10 says, “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.”

Yet the Pharisees have conveniently omitted one party. From the outset, it is clear that their concern is not for justice or the enforcement of God’s law, but manipulation. They are using this woman as a pawn in their effort to trap Jesus.

In asking him how he would deal with her, they try to trap Jesus between two codes of law: the Roman Law and the Jewish Law. If Jesus says, "Stone her," he violates Roman law, since only the Roman authorities held the power to sentence someone to death. Such an action would immediately label him a rebel and enemy of the Empire. On the other hand, if Jesus says, "Let her go," he openly defies the Law of Moses, discrediting himself among devout Jews as one who disregards sacred law.

This scene foreshadows an event during Jesus’ passion. After he is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane , the Jewish leaders will admit before Pontius Pilate, "We have no authority to put a man to death." They conspire to force the Roman authority to sentence Jesus to death.

In today’s case, though, Jesus masterfully turns the trap back upon the scribes and pharisees. His response: "Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone." Jesus puts the responsibility for the woman’s execution squarely on the shoulders of those who accuse her.

So Jesus has turned the tables: if THEY throw stones, they will be arrested by the Romans. If they don’t, they will appear to be claiming publicly to be sinless, which denies numerous scripture passages that remind us that before God, all men have sinned.

With their hypocrisy exposed, they are compelled to walk away. And with no accusers left, no legal plaintiffs remaining, the case collapses entirely.

At this point, Jesus turns to the woman with profound mercy, yet also clear, unwavering moral authority: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more."

Jesus’ words call the woman to repentance and a new way of life initiated by his mercy. Notice, he doesn’t explain away her sin. He doesn’t relax the very clear biblical teaching that adultery is gravely sinful. He is neither indulgent nor permissive toward sin. Yet, simultaneously, he exhibits mercy. “I do not condemn you”

And here is a great paradox that lies at the heart of the Christian way. Jesus’ absolute moral clarity about sin—“go and sin no more”--is matched by an equally absolute willingness to forgive—“neither do I condemn you”.

He doesn’t say, “Well, your circumstances were hard,” or “Who am I to judge?” No—Jesus names sin as sin. The command, “Go and sin no more,” presumes that real moral boundaries exist and that breaking them wounds not only ourselves, but others and our relationship with God.

Jesus is clear about sin and calling us away from sin because he loves us. God desires not the death of the sinner, but that the sinner might live. Jesus is not a therapist who validates our decisions. He is a savior who works to free us from sin. He intervenes and seeks to stop the cycles of sin in our lives by calling us to sin no more.

“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”. Jesus, if anyone, could have stoned her. For he is like us in all things but sin. But he doesn’t cast the stone, rather, he calls her to change, to repent, to metanoia—change your life, change your habits, turn away from sin and walk in the newness of life. He doesn’t belittle her. He speaks the truth that invites her to a new way of life. He calls to conversion and he is merciful—fully both, never one at the expense of the other.

Nowhere is this truth more fully revealed than in the Passion we are about to commemorate during Holy Week. On the Cross, Jesus doesn’t minimize sin—“Continue on in your sin, I’m just going to forgive you anyway.” He bears its full weight. And in doing so, He opens the gates of mercy to all. At the Cross, God’s justice and mercy meet.

At this point in Lent, perhaps we ourselves feel a bit like the woman in today’s Gospel. Maybe our Lenten practices have faltered, or perhaps we have even abandoned them altogether. We might feel ashamed or discouraged at our failures or shortcomings. Perhaps we have old sins that have still gone unconfessed. Yet, today, Jesus reassures us clearly: forgiveness is offered, a new beginning. Just as he did with the woman, Christ invites each to begin again, to recommit ourselves wholeheartedly to pursuing holiness in response to his merciful love.

So let us approach these final weeks of Lent with renewed resolve, embracing the fullness of Our Lord’s teaching,  committing ourselves anew to holiness, motivated not by fear or guilt, but by love—knowing deeply and confidently the inexhaustible mercy of Jesus, who continues to whisper gently but firmly to each one of us today: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more" for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

 

5th Week of Lent 2024 - Monday - Susanna, the sinful woman, and the Shepherd

Our two readings this morning—that of Susanna and the woman caught in adultery are linked by the beautiful responsorial Psalm—psalm 23rd—the great shepherd psalm—in which our merciful God is depicted as a shepherd who provides guidance, protection, assurance, and deliverance.

Psalm 23 begins with the powerful affirmation, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." In these words, we find solace in the shepherd's provision, knowing that God cares for our every need. Similarly, Susanna and the adulterous woman both experience God's provision and care in their moments of desperation. Susanna finds vindication and deliverance from false accusations, while the adulterous woman encounters the merciful forgiveness of Jesus, who protects her from the stones of condemnation.

As the psalmist declares, "He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." In Susanna's story and the encounter with the adulterous woman, we witness the transformative power of God's mercy and forgiveness. Both women experience restoration and guidance as they encounter the divine presence in their darkest moments. Through the prophet Daniel and the compassionate words of Jesus, they are led on the paths of righteousness and offered a new beginning.

Psalm 23 continues with the comforting assurance, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." In Susanna's trial and the Woman Caught in Adultery's moment of condemnation, they find themselves in the valley of darkness, facing imminent danger and death. Yet, God's presence is their comfort and strength. Through Daniel's intervention and Jesus' merciful intervention, they are delivered from harm.

Finally, Psalm 23 concludes with the proclamation, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Encountering the Lord’s mercy, both women are able to begin a new life, especially the woman caught in adultery. She is invited by the Lord not to return to her former life of sin, but to “go and sin no more”—to a life in which she strives to live free of sin—as all Christians are called to do.

May our Lenten journey help us and all people to encounter more deeply the shepherding care of the Lord—in times of trial, his deliverance, in times of sin, his mercy, and the promise of eternal life with him forever, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. 

For those without faith, those with hearts hardened toward God, and for those searching for Him.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

5th Sunday of Lent 2022 - God never tires of forgiving us

 On Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, St. Paul in the Epistle begged us, be “reconciled to God.” The prophet Joel, on the first reading of Ash Wednesday told us to return to God with your whole heart— a summons repeated in the acclamation preceding today’s Gospel. Ashes were then imposed on our foreheads, reminding us that we are dust, we mortal, we have sinned, we will face judgment upon our deaths, so must repent and believe in the Gospel. The call to reconciliation, repentance echoes throughout Lent. 

Last week, Jesus preached to us the Parable of the Prodigal Son, in which we see the son repenting, turning back toward his Father’s house. And the very good news that underlies all of this, is that the call to repentance presupposes a God who longs to forgive us. When we repent, we meet a Father who has boundless love for each us of wayward prodigal children of his. The father runs to embrace the sinner, wraps his arms around him with tears of joy. There is more joy in heaven over the one sinner who repents, than over the 99 who do not repent.

The fifth Sunday of Lent continues the Lenten call to repentance. And everything should be counted as rubbish, as St. Paul puts it, that keeps us from knowing God’s mercy. 

In today’s Gospel, God’s mercy is made manifest in Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery. Just as Jesus wanted us last week to identify with the Prodigal Son, so he wants us to see ourselves in the woman caught red-handed. And just as he wanted us to recognize that often we can behave like the older brother in the Parable who resents mercy given to sinful siblings, so, too, he wishes us to drop whatever stones are in our hands. And just as last week’s Parable urges us to seek the joy of turning back toward our Father’s house, so in this week’s Gospel we are to seek that life-changing encounter with Jesus’ mercy as did the adulterous woman.

The Gospel begins with the scribes and Pharisees posing a dilemma to Jesus. The woman had been caught in the very act of adultery, the dilemma is what to do with her. The dilemma posed to Jesus by the Pharisees is do we stone her to death or not? Moses, whom the Pharisees regarded as God’s greatest prophet, commanded adulterers to be stoned to death. Do we obey Moses and stone her, or do we disobey Moses and not stone her? If Jesus says yes, stone her, then he contradicts his own teaching about forgiveness and mercy. He’s also violating Roman law, since the Romans did not give the Jews the right to capital punishment. If he says no, don’t stone her, then he’s contradicting Jewish law and telling them to disobey the law that came from the greatest of God’s prophets. If Jesus refuses to answer, well then he can be dismissed as coward or as an authentic teacher.

So what does he do? In his divine genius, he tells them: “Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone.” He doesn’t evade the question, he shows that they were evading their own sinfulness. You claim she has a lot to answer for…you have a lot to answer for. He challenges them to look in the mirror. The adulterous woman is a mirror for them and for us. 

And what happens? You want to talk about a miracle? The fact that each of the Pharisees dropped their stones and actually walked away. Maybe there is hope even for the spiritually blind Pharisee to recognize his sinfulness. 

Again, the woman caught in adultery is a mirror for us to see ourselves and our sins. Every sin, in a sense, is an act of adultery toward God, because all sin is infidelity to the spousal covenant of love we have entered into with God through baptism. Every sin is a misuse of our God given free will which in justice should result in the loss of heaven forever. 

For the consequence of sin is relative to the one who has been offended or hurt by our sin. If you commit a crime against a fellow civilian, there is a minor punishment. If you commit a crime against a police officer, there is a greater punishment. If you commit a crime against the president, there is an even greater punishment due to the importance of his office. If you commit a crime against God, who is infinite in grandeur and goodness, well, that incurs the greatest of debts and merits the severest of consequences, no?

We need a savior, who is God and man, God who alone can forgive our sins, and man to pay the price. And the good news of Lent is that indeed we have such a Savior. Forgiveness of the debt is available through Christ. 

But, failing to repent that we have “greatly sinned … by our own … most grievous fault,” is like saying, I don’t need a Savior. Unless we recognize that we’re really sick—in need of the doctor—we cannot appreciate either the medicine of mercy or the Divine Physician who dies to dispense it.

As the Pharisees walk away, the Lord says to the woman, “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.”

Notice, Jesus doesn’t say, “there’s nothing to forgive. Don’t worry about it. You’re only human.” He calls her sin a sin, but offers her a new beginning. “Go and sin no more”. 

What a beautiful command. One of the most beautiful in all of scripture. Go and use your god-given free will in a way pleasing to God. Is there anything more beautiful than that command? To live a life free from serious sin!  The Lord would never have commanded it if it weren't possible. To the soul abandoned to Christ, It's possible. Which is what he’s offering this woman. To all of us. A new start. As long as we draw breath.

Nine years ago, Pope Francis preached his first Sunday mass as Pope. And this was the Gospel that weekend. And the Holy Father stressed “God never tires of forgiving us…it’s we who tire of asking for forgiveness.” Then he prayed, “May we never tire of asking for what God never tires to give!”

Next week, on Palm Sunday, we will hear the Lord’s Passion, how Jesus goes to the cross that each of us may be forgiven, over and over, if need be. All we have to do is repent, confess our sins, intend to sin no more, and put forth some effort in amending our lives.

“May we never tire of asking for what God never tires to give!” for the glory of God and salvation of souls

5th Week of Lent 2021 - Preservative and Liberative Redemption

 In our readings who heard of two women: one who was being framed by evil men, and one who was genuinely guilty of the sin of adultery.  Both were tempted to sin, pressured; but one was resisted sin, the other gave in. And in both stories, God is shown as the great deliverer.

In the first story, God delivers the innocent, by coming to their aid. In the second, God delivers the sinner, the guilty, through mercy. The sinner is delivered through Jesus’ offer of mercy and conversion.

We are called to be innocent like Susanna. When we are being pressured to sin, coerced, threatened by the wicked, we are to turn to God to deliver us from evil. And we are called to be like the woman caught in adultery: when we’re guilty of sin, we are to turn to God to deliver us from evil, our own evil, the evil we have caused, and we have committed. Whether we are unjustly condemned or justly condemned, we are certainly called to place are trust in the Lord.

Blessed Duns Scotus, Franciscan philosopher and theologian, taught that there are two types of redemption: preservative redemption and liberative redemption. God preserves us when we turn to him in temptation, and he liberates us when we’ve fallen. We certainly see those two types of redemption on display today.

The key is that we turn to God whatever our state, whatever our trial. We certainly pray for those who neither turn to God for preservation or liberation, those without faith. And we seek for ourselves, a deeper faith this Lent, that we can come to trust less in ourselves, and more in Christ. 

For each of these women, God's action in their life meant a new beginning for them.  Susanna would no doubt spend the rest of her life as a witness to God’s intervention in her life. The woman caught in adultery, was commanded by Christ, “to go and sin no more” hopefully she persevered in that new way of living.

Similarly with us, we are called to give testimony to others of the great things God has done for us by living righteously and faithfully to Jesus.

As we celebrate in just two weeks the ultimate source of our deliverance and redemption, the Cross and Resurrection, may the Lord deliver us from all sin, all temptation, all evil and all fear of witnessing to his love for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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For an increase in faith for the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity. And That the Church might be delivered and protected from all spirits of error, heresy, schism, and unbelief. Let us pray to the Lord.

That during this Year of St. Joseph, the Church may discover a deeper devotion to our Universal Patron. That through St. Joseph’s intercession families may be strengthened, priestly and religious vocations may increase, demons may be scattered, and the sick and dying may know the peace of Jesus. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or illness: may they experience the healing graces of Christ. Let us pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.  Let us pray to the Lord. Let us pray to the Lord.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.

5th Sunday of Lent 2019 - "I make all things new"

Fifteen years ago already, actor, director and producer Mel Gibson released a film depicting the final hours, crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ called The Passion of the Christ.  I saw the film during my semester abroad in Rome, and it was during Holy Week, and I remember being deeply and tearfully moved by this highly realistic presentation of Jesus’ passion.  It definitely changed the way I pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary and the stations of the cross, the graphic bloodshed and suffering etched in my memory. 

Particularly difficult to watch was the scourging of Our Lord at the pillar and when the crown of thorns was shoved onto his forehead, and when he fell underneath the weight of the cross on the road to Calvary.  Difficult to watch, not just because the amount of blood and suffering was gross or morbid, but as the film progressed I got that growing awareness that his suffering was because of my sins.

I remember tears nearly squirting out of my eyes at the scene depicting the 4th station of the cross where Jesus meets his mother. Amidst the mockery and beatings from the roman soldiers, Jesus meets his mother, looks at her, bloodied and beaten, and says words we find in the book of Revelation, “See Mother, I make all things new.”  All of the suffering, all of the blood, the hard road of the cross was for the purpose of ushering in something new.

Both the first reading and the Gospel this weekend made me think of that powerful utterance. In the first reading, Isaiah seven hundred years before the crucifixion of Jesus, speaks a word of hope to the Jews in exile. In a sense, Israel had been bloodied and beaten by its captors.  God’s people suffered the humiliation of living in a foreign land, under foreign rule.  The promises of God seemed ever so distant; it looked as if God’s enemies were victorious.

And in the darkness, God sends a prophet, Isaiah.  And through his prophet, God says, as we heard in the first reading, “see, I am doing something new!”  God is promising that He is going to break-in to creation in an unexpected way, he’s going to break the bonds of our captivity.  He’s going to usher in a new unheard of era of freedom from the powers of darkness and evil, a new way of walking in friendship with God, a whole new order to creation.

Certainly this is the kingdom Jesus establishes: in his Church, through the Sacraments, Jesus makes souls new, he makes human relationship news, he even makes new God’s relationship to us in making God present to His people in a way he had never been before, so that our very bodies and souls become temples of the Holy Trinity.

So many of the Gospel stories brim with that newness.  In the Gospel today, it looked like it was the end of the road for the women caught in the act of adultery.  She was guilty of a capital crime.  Yet, Jesus does something new.  He stops the momentum of this violent crowd and forces them to consider something new, to consider that they too are sinners, and that should change how they treat each other. As the crowd walks away dumbstruck, Jesus then invites the sinful women to a new way of life—a life without sin made possible through His mercy.

Last week, I talked about the Sacrament of Confession, how God the Father embraces us in His mercy there. With this week’s Gospel in mind, we could say that in Confession, God makes us new. Though our sins be as scarlet, we are washed clean,  our sins absolved. And in Confession, the priest dismisses us, much like Jesus in the Gospel today, Go and sin no more. Something new is possible through the Sacrament of Confession.  The slate is wiped clean.  It’s a new start, a fresh start, with God’s promise that He will help me overcome the sinful tendencies I’ve just confessed.

Lent challenges us to seek that newness God wants for us. The very word, Lent, refers to the springtime lengthening of days, in which new growth emerges from the dust of the earth. Our Garden Club, knows well that Spring is also a time for clearing away dead branches, and pruning—cutting away the less healthy branches so that new growth can occur.  Lent helps us to identify unhealthy attitudes and behaviors that need to be cut back, so new growth can occur in us. All that keeps us from loving Christ and loving as Christ should be counted as rubbish, as St. Paul says in our second reading today.

For me, the hardest part about Lent, isn’t so much the fasting or the prayer, but the willingness to make the break with unhealthy attitudes and behaviors. We’re all struggling with that aren’t we, “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” so we better be patient with each other, and give each other the benefit of the doubt that we’re trying, shouldn’t we. To not be so quick to condemn. Humble awareness of our own inner flaws should bring us greater more patience, not less, with the flaws of others. We should seek to learn all we can from others, instead of condemning them.

Speaking of new things. This week, Holy Father Pope Francis, issued a new apostolic exhortation, titled, Cristus Vivat! Christ is alive. The document is dedicated to young people, and the opening lines are so powerful. Pope Francis writes: “Christ is alive! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world, and everything he touches becomes young, new, full of life.” The words new and renewal are used 104 times in this document. The Holy Father promises young people that the answers to the new questions of modern life can be found in Jesus. How Jesus always invites us to make a new start when we’ve fallen. How when we look to God we find the beauty that is ever ancient, ever new, the beauty our heart longs for. How young people, in facing new and difficult modern challenges, not to be supported by us, taught the truth of the faith, so that they can be equipped with the Gospel.

Certainly, one of our challenges here at St. Ignatius is to ensure that we continue to be a community  welcoming to all people who are seeking renewal and refreshment in Christ and especially young people and young families who are hungering for that newness of life, that truth, goodness, and beauty ever ancient, ever new. We have a long history here of being a parish where a rich diversity of people gathers in Catholic worship, and we seek to continue to be faithful to that heritage. Our individual duty, then  is to constantly be seeking that inner renewal that comes through a vibrant relationship with Christ, so that Jesus might draw all people to himself through us.

Pope Francis writes to young people and to all of us: …God loves you just as you are…but he also keeps offering you more: more of his friendship, more fervor in prayer, more hunger for his word, more longing to receive Christ in the Eucharist, more desire to live by his Gospel, more inner strength, more peace and spiritual joy.”

Next week, we shall begin the Week called Holy. Hopefully, we’ve taken that call to seek that something more, that something new, in our Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, so that we can experience the Paschal Mysteries with new eyes and new heart and with new gratitude for the depths of Jesus love for us in his willingness to suffer and die for us.

May we open our minds and hearts to all the ways that God wants to do something new in us—new ways of serving, new ways of praying, new ways of doing penance, new ways of spreading the joy of the Gospel—for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

5th Week of Lent 2018 - Thursday - Jesus Christ is the Great I AM

Christians believe that Jesus is “True God and True Man”, he is “fully God” and “fully human.” We also know that the instances where Jesus clearly proclaims his divinity are rather rare in the pages of the New Testament. But, on this Thursday of the 5th week of Lent, as Holy Week looms ever closer, we have one of those instances.

Jesus had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles—a feast celebrating the abundance of God’s mercy. Having Himself just displayed God’s abundant mercy in the story of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus stands before a group of fellow Jews. Jesus teaches that same God who abundantly forgives the sins of the contrite, those committing to “going and sinning no more”, has sent Him to be a light for the world, “those who follow Him shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Then we hear today, the clear and undeniable teaching, “before Abraham was, I AM.” Jesus identifies himself as the very same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the very same God who appeared to Moses at the burning bush, the God of creation, the God of Israel.

Even though many Jews had come to believe in His divine mission, they only saw him as a human being, a prophet. His claim of equality with God, to them was blasphemous. And so, following the dictates of Levitical law, they picked up stones to drive Him from their midst.

During these final days of Lent, we show our belief that not only is Jesus a man who suffers for God’s will, as all of us are called to do, he is God with the power to save us from our sins, to heal broken hearts and broken lives. We prepare, during Lent, through our penances, to stand with the newly initiated at Easter, to acknowledge that it is through God’s mercy that we have come to believe that Jesus Christ is “True God, and True Man.” May our Lenten penances help us to deepen our conviction that “those who keep His Word shall never see death” and to strengthen our conviction for solemnly declaring to all the nations that Jesus Christ is Lord and God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That God may be pleased to increase faith and understanding in the catechumens and candidates who approach the sacraments of initiation in the coming Paschal Solemnity.

That those in need may find assistance in the charity of faithful Christians and that peace and security may be firmly established in all places.

For strength to resist temptation, and the humility to sincerely repent of sin.

That through fasting and self-denial, we may be ever more conformed to Christ.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Mercifully hear, O Lord, the prayers of your Church and turn with compassion to the hearts that bow before you, that those you make sharers in your divine mystery may always benefit from your assistance.