Introduction: May you keep your eyes focused on
where the Lord Jesus is calling you to be, and may you realize that Jesus is
offering you a fuller life than what you are experiencing now.
GOD is
constantly offering us the gift of new life. It is ours for the taking, but it
does demand that we respond to the gift by living differently than we did with
our old lives. We may have heard, individuals who had a “near-death” experience
(NDE). They were clinically dead but were revived. Of the common experiences
they share, one is the sense that they still had something to do with their
lives here on earth. They returned with a new enthusiasm for life. Their former
lives of living somewhat selfishly were changed to being dedicated to assisting
others and doing what was best for all whose paths they crossed. They no longer
acted with fear but were motivated by a renewed sense of what “life” is all
about.
We are all
asked to have such dedication to new life and seek to let go of our former ways
of self-seeking and be concerned for others and assist them along the
journey of life.
Which way do
you look most often? Do you look only backward at what has been, or do you look
forward to what lies ahead? These questions flow from the readings today.
Isaiah reminds the faithful that they should not just be looking at what GOD
has done, but also, they must also realize that GOD is still very active in
their lives and will continue to be active. The Responsorial Psalm is a call to
rejoice in what GOD is doing right now. In today’s part of his letter to the
Philippians, St. Paul realizes he has come a long way in his faith journey, but
he still has farther to go and further to grow. In the Gospel, Jesus encounters
the woman caught in adultery. When questioned about the sinfulness of the
woman, Jesus raises issues that make her accusers leave her alone and allow
Jesus to challenge the woman to move on from this experience to a new way of
life.
First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21: See,
I am doing a new deed, and I will give my chosen people drink
Commentary: During Lent, we have been working
through the story of Israel preparing – or being prepared – for the
coming of Christ: Adam, Abraham, Moses, the monarchy, and now the promise of a
new beginning. For that is what Easter is. This part of Isaiah was written
during the Exile of the Jews in Babylon, a traumatic event that seemed to them
the end of all their hopes. Permanent exile and slavery, far from their beloved
Jerusalem. ‘There we sat and wept’, says the Psalmist. But the prophet whose
work is attributed to Isaiah set out to re-invigorate them with the promise
that they would return to Jerusalem and that the wonders of the Exodus from
Egypt would be renewed. No need to recall the past, for there would be a road
across the desert and miraculous supplies of water for the travellers. The
desert would bloom afresh (for the slightest supply of water brings the
withered plants to life in the spring), and the curious beasts of the desert,
jackals and ostriches, would praise the Lord. There is a lesson for us, too.
Our trust in God teaches us – and our own experience eventually grudgingly
reinforces this – that seemingly total disaster can become a source of
strength and instruction.
Responsorial Psalm 126: What
marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad.
The psalm
echoes the need to give praise to GOD for all the mighty deeds that have been
done, and that continue to be done by the divine hand of GOD. Although there
are rough times, GOD will give the faithful reasons to rejoice, just as
harvesters rejoice in the rich produce of the land, especially when the produce
has been the result of other people’s hard work.
Second Reading: Philippians
3:8-14: I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ
Commentary: Here we read of Paul’s own struggle,
in the letter to his special friends at Philippi. He is tired, probably already
quite senior, and longs to finish his race and be with Christ in tranquillity.
The games and athletic contests were the football tournaments of the ancient
world. Corinth, where Paul spent so long, was the centre for the Isthmian
Games, more important than the Olympics, and Paul often uses imagery of running
and even boxing. He knows the thrill of the contest, but at the same time, he
recognizes that all our power comes from the Resurrection of Christ. Christ
endured and was raised by the Father. Often for us, Christianity consists of
enduring slights, insults or neglect and replying with a cheerful word or
gesture, which dissolves the hurt and seeks to renew friendship and genuine
relationship. There is no need to aggressively turn the other cheek; it needs
more of the courage of Christ to reply with a positive advance. If I can bring
myself to ask, ‘What would Jesus have done?’ I am already sharing in his
strength. The aggression of the athlete is re-directed!
Gospel John 8:1-11: 'Let the one
among you who has not sinned be the first to throw a stone'
Commentary: This is an independent, floating story
that does not fit well into the Gospel of John. In early manuscripts of the
Gospels, it floats around in various positions before it becomes anchored as an
example of Jesus’ saying just before, ‘Our Law does not allow us to pass
judgement on anyone without first giving him a hearing’ (John 7.51).
What did Jesus
write on the ground, or was he just doodling to allow the accusers time to reflect
on their self-righteousness? It is made clear throughout the Gospel of Luke
that you cannot be a follower of Christ without first admitting your
sinfulness. Peter, in the boat, tells Jesus to leave, for he is a sinner.
Zacchaeus promises to make multiple restitution for his embezzlement. The
woman at the supper weeps for her sins at Jesus’ feet.
Reflection: Are you
ready to be changed and transformed in Christ-like holiness? God never
withholds his grace from us. His steadfast love and mercy are new every day
(Lamentations 3:22-23). Through the gift and grace of the Holy Spirit, we can be
changed and made new in Christ. He can set us free from our unruly desires and
passions.
Unjust accusations against Jesus: The Gospel
accounts frequently describe how Jesus had to face unjust accusations made by
the Pharisees, the ruling elders of Israel. They were upset with Jesus'
teaching, and they wanted to discredit him in any way they could. They wanted to
not only silence him but to get rid of him because of his claim to speak with
God's authority. When a moral dilemma or difficult legal question arose, it was
typical for the Jews to take the matter to a rabbi for a decision. The scribes
and the Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in the act of
adultery. John writes that they wanted to "test" Jesus on the issue
of retribution so " they might have some charge to bring against him"
(John 8:6).
Jewish law
treated adultery as a serious crime since it violated God's ordinance and
wreaked havoc on the stability of marriage and family life. It was one of the
three gravest sins, punishable by death. If Jesus said the woman must be
pardoned, he would be accused of breaking the law of Moses. If he said the
woman must be stoned, he would lose his reputation for being the merciful
friend of sinners.
Jesus then does
something quite unexpected - he begins to write in the sand. The word for
"writing" which is used here in the Gospel text has a literal meaning
"to write down a record against someone" (for another example see Job
13:26). Perhaps Jesus was writing down a list of the sins of the accusers
standing before him. Jesus now turns the challenge towards his accusers. In
effect, he says :Go ahead and stone her! But let the man who is without sin be
the first to cast a stone. The Lord leaves the matter to their own consciences.
Pardon, restoration, and new life: When the
adulterous woman is left alone with Jesus, he both expresses mercy and strongly exhorts her to not sin again. The scribes wished to condemn, but Jesus
wished to forgive and to restore the sinner to health. His challenge involved a
choice - either to go back to her former way of sin and death or to reach out
to God's offer of forgiveness, restoration, and new life in his kingdom of
peace and righteousness. Jesus gave her pardon and a new start on life. God's
grace enables us to confront our sin for what it is - unfaithfulness to God-
and to turn back to God with a repentant heart and a thankful spirit for God's
mercy and forgiveness. Do you know the joy of repentance and a clean
conscience?
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)
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: A humble examination, by Bede the Venerable, 672-735
A.D.
"In line
with our usual human way of doing things, we can understand that the reason why
the Lord might wish to bend before his unprincipled tempters and to write on
the ground was that by directing his look elsewhere, he might give them the
freedom to go away. He foresaw that as they had been astounded by his answer,
they would be more inclined to depart quickly than to ask him more questions...
Figuratively
speaking, the fact that both before and after he gave his opinion he bent and
wrote on the ground admonishes us that both before we rebuke a sinning neighbor
and after we have rendered to him the ministry of due correction, we should
subject ourselves to a suitably humble examination, lest perhaps we be
entangled in the same things that we censure in [our neighbors] or in any other
sort of misdeeds. For it often comes about, for example, that people who
publicly judge a murderer to be a sinner may not perceive the worse evil of the
hatred with which they themselves despoil someone in secret. People who bring
an accusation against a fornicator may ignore the plague of the pride with
which they congratulate themselves for their own chastity. People who condemn a
drunkard may not see the venom of envy with which they themselves are eaten
away.
In dangers of
this sort, what saving remedy is left for us except that, when we look at some
other sinner, we immediately bend down - that is, we humbly observe how we
would be cast down by our frail condition if divine benevolence did not keep us
from falling? Let us write with a finger on the ground - that is, let us
meticulously ponder with discrimination whether we can say with blessed Job,
'For our heart does not censure us in all our life' (Job 27:6), and let us
painstakingly remember that if our heart censures us, God is greater than our
heart and he knows all things." (excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS
1.25)
Jesus “the author” (Acts 3:15): Jesus “bent down
and wrote on the ground” —John 8:8
Sinners are
called to repent and then to “give no thought to what lies behind” (Phil 3:13).
Victims are likewise called to not live in the past and to shake off the dust
from any rejections (see Mt 10:14). How is this just? It’s just since Jesus
paid the price for both sinners and victims. Jesus makes it right; He makes all
things new (Is 43:19; Rv 21:5).
Jesus forgave
the woman caught in the act of adultery (Jn 8:4, 11). Yet how can a marriage
that suffers the trauma of adultery be made new? It seems Jesus is doing
nothing for the victimized husband of the woman; He just writes in the dust (Jn
8:6, 8). Yet Jesus “remembers that we are dust” (Ps 103:14), and He writes
something new in each life to transform both sinner and victim. He transforms
dust into good, fruitful soil and makes new life where there was destruction
and desolation (see Is 43:20).
Now the issue
becomes whether we will accept His re-writing. Will we accept His action to renew all
things His way rather than our way? Will we accept Jesus’ call to forgive? Will
we choose His mercy rather than our vindication? Can we reappraise our plans as
rubbish? (Phil 3:8) Will we believe that Jesus is at work when it appears He is
callous to our suffering, allowing injustice, and seemingly doing nothing?
God says, “See,
I am doing something new!... Do you not perceive it?” (Is 43:19). Jesus is
interacting with our fallen, hurting world. He remembers we are dust, so He
is bending down and writing His Good News on the dust of our life.
Prayer: Jesus, I give You permission to write the remaining
chapters of my life any way You wish. “Nor do I condemn you. You may go. But
from now on, avoid this sin.” —Jn 8:11. Praise Jesus, our Life, Love, and risen
Lord God. Alleluia!
The personal action for today: What is my focus in life? Is it merely in what I do
and what I have accomplished and what I possess? Do I take the time to look at
what lies beyond this earthly existence? What aspects of my life must I
surrender to the Lord Jesus so that I may fully follow where He is leading? How
can I help others look beyond the here and now and prepare themselves for the
transition to the fullness of life that GOD has in store for each of us?
*Saint Crescentia
Hoess: Crescentia was born in 1682, the daughter of a poor weaver, in a little
town near Augsburg. She spent play time praying in the parish church, assisted those
even poorer than herself, and had so mastered the truths of her religion that she
was permitted to make her first Holy Communion at the then unusually early age of
7. In the town, she was called “the little angel.”
As she grew older,
she desired to enter the convent of the
Tertiaries of Saint Francis. But the convent was poor, and because Crescentia
had no dowry, the superiors refused her admission. Her case was then pleaded by
the Protestant mayor of the town to whom the convent owed a favor. The community
felt it was forced into receiving her, and her new life was made miserable. She
was considered a burden and assigned nothing other than menial tasks. Even her cheerful
spirit was misinterpreted as flattery or hypocrisy.
Conditions improved
four years later when a new superior was elected who realized her virtue. Crescentia
herself was appointed mistress of novices. She so won the love and respect of the
sisters that, upon the death of the superior, Crescentia was unanimously elected
to that position. Under her, the financial state of the convent improved, and her
reputation in spiritual matters spread. She was soon being consulted by princes
and princesses; bishops and cardinals too sought her advice. And yet, a true daughter
of Francis, she remained ever humble.
Bodily afflictions
and pain were always with her. First, it was headaches and toothaches. Then she lost
the ability to walk, her hands and feet gradually becoming so crippled that her
body curled up into a fetal position. In the spirit of Francis, she cried out, “Oh,
you bodily members, praise God that he has given you the capacity to suffer.” Despite
her sufferings she was filled with peace and joy as she died on Easter Sunday in
1744.
She was beatified
in 1900 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2001. The liturgical feast of Saint
Crescentia Hoess is celebrated on June 15.
Although she grew
up in poverty and willingly embraced it in her vocation, Crescentia had a good head
for business. Under her able administration, her convent regained financial stability.
Too often, we think of good money management as, at best, a less-than-holy gift.
But Crescentia was wise enough to balance her worldly skills with such acumen in
spiritual matters that heads of State and Church both sought her advice.
