John 8:1-11

Isaiah 43:16-21

Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

Philippians 3:8-14

John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,

and all the people started coming to him,

and he sat down and taught them.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman

who had been caught in adultery

and made her stand in the middle.

They said to him,

“Teacher, this woman was caught

in the very act of committing adultery.

Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.

So what do you say?”

They said this to test him,

so that they could have some charge to bring against him.

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

But when they continued asking him,

he straightened up and said to them,

“Let the one among you who is without sin

be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.

And in response, they went away one by one,

beginning with the elders.

So he was left alone with the woman before him.

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,

“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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for being patient with me as I battle to overcome sin and temptation. I know that I will be judged for my actions and decisions. Help me to put your Son’s words into practice and sin no more. Help me to know where, when, and how I am tempted, where I am weak, and where I need your merciful grace to conquer evil.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Sin No More: The Gospel teaches us how we are to refrain from judgment and condemnation and to be merciful as God is merciful. Jesus brought the Old Law to its fulfillment in the New Law. On the one hand, the New Law of Jesus prohibits not only adultery but also lust. On the other, the New Law offers a path of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation for even the most serious sins and offenses. Jesus offers the woman caught in adultery hope and a challenge to sin no more. Jesus humbled the scribes and Pharisees, who had no concern for the woman and only wanted to use her as a way to ensnare Jesus. If Jesus prohibited them from stoning the woman, they would accuse Jesus of breaking the Law of Moses. If Jesus allowed them to carry out the stoning, they probably would have accused Jesus of murder before the civil authorities. Jesus doesn’t fall into either trap. He doesn’t condone or turn a blind eye to sin, nor does he advocate for capital punishment for serious sins. He invites each person to look at their own struggles with sin and to be merciful just as God has been merciful to them.

2. Jesus, the New Way: The First Reading, taken from Isaiah 43, contains God’s promise to do something new and even greater than the original exodus. The Lord is presented as the one who opened a way in the sea for his children and who destroyed the chariots of Pharaoh. Isaiah then says that we shouldn’t just think that God did great things in the past but isn’t going to act on our behalf in the present or save his people in the future. The passage from Isaiah is directed first of all to the exiles in Babylon. Isaiah promises that God will open a way in the desert for them to return to Jerusalem from Babylon. But the passage also looks forward to a greater salvation: Jesus is the New Way opened in the desert. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). He is the Way that leads not to an earthly city, but to a heavenly one. He is the Way of Salvation. In fact, early Christians were called followers of the Way (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). We are pilgrims, sojourners, and exiles (1 Peter 2:11), walking on the New Way of Jesus Christ to the New Jerusalem. 

3. The Power of His Resurrection: In the Second Reading, Paul considers everything as a loss and rubbish compared to knowing Jesus and believing in him. Paul learned that true righteousness does not come from obedience to the Law of Moses but from faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus justifies us and makes us sharers in Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. We are raised to new life in Jesus and empowered to live out the New Law of charity. Justification is not a one-and-done event or declaration by God. It is a process that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. We are initially made righteous or justified through faith and Baptism. We grow in righteousness through grace and meritorious works. At the end of our lives, the righteousness we have in Christ can be crowned with glory in heaven. Paul speaks about straining forward to what lies ahead and continuing his pursuit toward the goal. We are all striving to leave behind old lives of sin, to walk along the New Way in Christ, and to attain the crown of everlasting glory in heaven.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you gave the supreme example of mercy in the Gospel. You invited the woman and the religious authorities to continue to battle against sin, to not give up the fight. When I fail, I know you will be there at my side, ready to forgive and welcome me back to the Father’s household.

Living the Word of God: Holy Week will begin next week. What can I do to live the week better? Can I carve out time to attend mass on Holy Thursday or spend time in adoration at my local parish throughout the night on Holy Thursday? Can I make plans to read the passion of our Lord on Good Friday and spend time in prayer, meditation, and contemplation? Can I put away distractions – news, social media, entertainment, unnecessary internet – on Holy Saturday and make it a day of family, prayer, charity, and worship? How can I be a better witness to the Resurrection and proclaim the true meaning of Easter?