Sunday Gospel Reflection
Let him who is without sin cast the stone

Introduction

Sinless in the Eyes of God

Who is the most honorable person you know?
Why is this person so honorable?

What makes a person honorable?
Great deeds and great commitments?
Wisdom and humility?
Trustworthiness and compassion?
A great reputation?

There are these and many other ways to define an honorable person. Striving for the right. The right way to act. The right way to live. This person is the opposite of the sinner.

What turns a sinner into an individual of honor? Presented with a sinner, Jesus turned the question of condemnation back on the honorable leaders of his community. And he gave the possibility of change to the sinner with a simple twist in his point of view.

First Reading
Isaiah 43:16-21

16 This is what the LORD says- he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters,
17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen,
21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

Second Reading
Philippians 3:8-14

8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Pressing on Toward the Goal
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Gospel Reading
John 8:1-11

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst
4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?"
6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."
8 And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
9 But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
10 Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."

Bible Study/Meditation

"What do you say about her (the adulteress)?" is the question with which the Pharisees and scribes confronted Jesus. It was not a legitimate question for they had already determined their views about her. In their minds condemnation and the consequential stoning of this woman was the conclusion to which they had already jumped. Now having caught and condemned her, they used this occasion and this question to endeavor to catch and condemn Jesus. But Jesus, "knowing what was in the heart of all men," authorized the ones without sin to begin the stoning process. These men, so accustomed to condemning others, now could not escape self- condemnation, so in guilt they slunk away one by one.

Did Jesus by his actions condone this woman’s behavior? Of course not! What he did was to judge righteous judgment, but simultaneously avoided judgmentalism. Righteous judgment recognizes the difference between right and wrong, but it also with mercy and grace properly assesses the situation. This woman, like many of us, was experiencing a desert and wilderness experience in her life, similar to that which is spoken of in this week’s First Reading. Also, like many of us who turn to the empty things of the world in hope of finding our way and finding something to satisfy, this woman turned to adultery, which failed to satisfy her as it always does. Righteous judgment not only recognizes the problem but it also recognizes the solution. In this case the solution was mercy and forgiveness, forces which compel us to stop living for ourselves and to begin living for him who is the source of this love, (2 Corinthians 5:14.) Righteous judgment accompanied with mercy and forgiveness offers a way in the wilderness and water in the desert, it offers life.

The judgmentalism of the Pharisees and scribes also recognizes right and wrong behavior, but it is not based on the nature and character of God, but on one’s own supposed self-righteousness. And because self-righteousness can only be maintained by making others less righteous, judgmentalism always roots out sin in others and condemns it ruthlessly while ignoring one’s own sin and failure. Unlike the First Reading, judgmentalism does not offer a way in the wilderness, or life giving water in the dessert, but instead speeds the dying process. Ultimately that is what this incident is all about, judgmentalism. In their self-righteousness the Pharisees and scribes wanted to be able to condemn Jesus. If he let her go without punishment they could accuse him of ignoring the Law. If he also condemned her they would accuse him of hypocrisy. In their minds they had already condemned Jesus, now all they needed to do was to find an acceptable accusation against him. In the end their spirit of condemnation ensnared them, as the pointed finger of accusation turned to focus on their own unrighteous histories and reckoning them, "Guilty!"

Hopefully, as we near the end of our lenten journey, we have been able to assess our relationship with Christ and our commitment to follow him in obedience. But we must ask ourselves whether our view of ourselves, and others, is being controlled by aspects of righteous judgment or by judgmentalism? If it is the latter we will find our spirit dragged down by a sense of guilt and condemnation. If it is the former we will find our long faces turning to joyous smiles as we recognize Jesus saying also to us, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." We will understand the truth Monsignor Romano Guardini proclaims in his book, The Lord, that, "God is moved by the suffering human heart; the pain of it clouds his face, and we understand who he is and what St. Paul means when he speaks of the goodness and kindness of God."

Reflections:

· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that move(s)/touche(s) you and what inner message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you? 

. The woman sinned against the sixth commandment. What does the sixth commandment teach us? The sixth commandment teaches us that love is the basic duty for everyone. Jesus tells us to love God above everything else, and to love others as ourselves, whether they are male or female. The equality of love calls us to respect others' dignity and to accept ourselves, especially own sexual identity. (2392, 2393) Jesus invited her to return to a chaste life.
What is "chastity? Chastity is the virtue of self-control in sexual matters. Because sexuality includes our psychological, physical, moral, and social worlds, chastity helps us to integrate these areas in a healthy way. Chastity is more than saying "no" to sexual thoughts or desires; chastity points to the goal of sexual expression, the lifelong commitment of marriage. Everyone is called to live a chaste life, whether married or not. (2394, 2395, 2394)

----Have you ever known someone who changed their life around? From the sinner to the honorable person? What caused the change? 

. How many times have we stood "sinless" before the Lord? How many times could we claim honor in the eyes of God? Never? Our past might condemn us, but before God we are innocent. Like the woman in the passage, we stand without sin if we are willing to receive the gift of grace. For, only faith in God's grace convinces us that the Father will allow us to be free from sin. We have honor before him, but only as his children. Let us revel in that place of honor he has graciously bestowed on us.

----In what areas of your life are overly critical? How can you see these areas through God's eyes? How does this change in view affect your view of life? 

. "And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7)

---Recall a time when I found myself too ready to condemn someone. Did I draw a distinction between "the sin" and "the "sinner?"

Prayer

God our Father, we find it difficult to come to you, because our knowledge of you is imperfect. In our ignorance we have imagined you to be our enemy; we have wrongly thought that you take pleasure in punishing our sins; and we have foolishly conceived you to be a tyrant over human life. But since Jesus came among us, he has shown that you are loving, that you are on our side against all that stunts life, and that our resentment against you was groundless. So we come to you, asking you to forgive our past ignorance, and wanting to know more and more of you and your forgiving love, through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Prayer of Saint Augustine)