April 7, 2019

5th Sunday of Lent C
Isaiah 43: 16-21; Philippians 3; 8-14; John 8: 1-11
What is sin? We know all about sin because each person is a sinner; NO matter, how hard we try and no
matter how much we are working on our holiness. “Sin is an offense against God” states the Catechism
of the Catholic Church. It adds, “Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from
it.” I like Paul’s description in Romans 7: 14-15, 19: “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold
into slavery to sin. What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate…For I do not
do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” Each person falls into this category.
Now what is God best at? His Mercy! 1 John 1: 8-10: “If we say, ‘We are without sin,’ we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us
from every wrongdoing. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Today’s readings on this Sunday before Palm Sunday and Holy Week focus on God’s mercy and
forgiveness. God’s mercy is not a ‘pointing of the finger’ and ‘beating us down’ and ‘berating us’ but it
seeks to heal what has been broken by our sin and restore all to be in harmony with God’s plan. Clifford
Hennings, OFM states it beautifully; “God, therefore, finds new ways to restore His people, with the aim
that they once again praise Him and live in accordance with the law of life.”
Can I look at sin as a way to draw closer to God’s help and love? Do I realize that God is always loving
me, even when I’m not loving myself? We turn now to the readings.
Isaiah constantly was trying to maneuver kings and people in the direction of God. They concentrated
on investing their lives in earthy wants and desires and rely on these for their comfort and security. The
result was obvious: the kingdom collapsed and was taken over by the Babylonian Empire. Today Isaiah
is reminding the people on how God delivered Israel from their bondage in Egypt. The walking through
the sea into freedom brings healing to a defeated people. They watched as the most powerful of the
world’s armies disappeared into the waters. Today Isaiah is telling the people that again God is
delivering His people even more dramatically. Even though their past failures have not shattered the
bonds with God, they are shown God’s powerful and eternal mercy and everlasting love. That is what
God is about: Love. Am I grateful for the countless showings of His love each day in my life?
Paul is looking at his life and sharing with the Philippians that all his accomplishments and accruing of
wealth is “rubbish”. Scripture scholars say that the word ‘rubbish’ is a Greek word that can be more
graphically translated as ‘dung’. This imagery is so striking showing that Paul sees earthly wealth, fame
and accomplishments — power possessions, pleasure, prestige in today’s verbiage—are useless, a total
waste. Paul is urging his readers and each person to draw closer to what lies ahead, realizing that heaven
is our home. Knowing that the values of heaven are concentrated on faith, hope, charity which show
themselves in caring, forgiveness, compassion, going out of our way to bring love to the hurting and
needy in our lives. These are the goal standards. Am I living in this way with heaven as my goal?
Next we turn to one of the most popular stories found in the New Testament, the woman caught in
adultery. Why is it so popular? Because we can see ourselves condemned, with no leg to stand on,
realizing that ‘our sin’ just can’t be forgiven. Yet what does God do—FORGIVES TOTALLY, God’s
love is supreme!
It is important to see that the story is located in the temple area thus attracting a large amount of people.
Again the scribes and pharisees, the leaders who felt they were totally morally right and justifiable, are
out to trap Jesus and make Him look like a phony in front of the people. They claimed that the woman
was caught in the act of adultery. They claimed that the penalty Moses required was stoning to death.
BUT they’d not brought witnesses which was required by law AND they failed to indicate that BOTH
the man and woman engaged in adultery were to be condemned. Jesus did not give a verbal reply, He
simply wrote on the ground. Jesus sees through their phoniness. What Jesus wrote is not important, His
gesture says so much more. Whoever is without sin can throw the first stone. They all left. Then Jesus
says such an important live: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?…No one, sir…Neither do
I condemn you . Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
Clifford Hennings, OFM in Sunday Homily Helps shares what the woman in adultery teaches us:
“a) Jesus shows no sign that He is interested in the games being played by the scribes. His
concern is the same as God’s: to mend what is broken by sin.
b) Jesus does not deny the woman’s sin; instead He invites all those gathered to consider their
own sinfulness. What good may come of this woman’s death?
c) God does not desire punishment, but restoration. Not only is the life of the woman spared,
but she is invited into an even greater life. Jesus’ intention is made clear in His parting words to
her: ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.
d) This act of mercy demonstrates God’s divine justice, for it seeks to bring life and healing, for
that is precisely God’s will.”
So I reflect on:
• What helps me to trust in God’s mercy and abandon sinful memories?
• When have I tried to focus on another’s wrongdoing to avoid looking at my own?
I Look At My Recent Sin And Learn From It:
- What need did I have that wasn’t being fulfilled?
- Was I choosing this ‘sin’ as an alternative because it would make me ‘feel good’?
- Was I perhaps using this ‘sin’ because I wanted to get angry or was focusing my attention on a person
who did me in?
- Did I have a need for love…attention…affirmation…approval…and the people close to me OR those
I expected it from didn’t respond? Did I realize that I have to love myself to respond to my need?
- Do I look at how I feel and then ask God for what I need…then listen?
Sacred Space 2019 states: (went to year 2016)
“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 this trouble? Like
the bystanders already collecting the best stones with a view to killing? Like 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?
Sometimes we are overwhelmed by a sense of our own guilt. The voices of accusation roar in our ears. Frozen
with fear, we wait for condemnation. Lord, like the woman in the reading, may we hear the damning voices fade
until there is only Your voice left, telling us to move on and sin no more