FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR C

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT YEAR C

First Reading: Isaiah 43: 16-21

Second Reading: Philippians 3: 8-14

Gospel: John 8: 1-11

The first reading today is taken from the Book of Isaiah. The context is the exile in Babylon. The prophet begins with a message of comfort and hope and faith in Yahweh. The people are to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem because God is about to redeem Israel, His chosen servant. He presents the exodus from Egypt as the prototype of every instance of liberation brought about by God. The original exodus was quite remarkable. Think about the mighty hand with which God saved them from Egypt. But a new exodus will surpass what happened in former times.

The prophet’s words are designed to fill the people with hope that they will soon be able to return home, and also with the energy to undertake the religious restoration of Israel. But they are also a reminder to people of all times that God never abandons his chosen ones and a constant encouragement that God’s forgiving love is always available to His people. The only proviso is that they must have recourse to God’s mercy and sincerely admit their sins.

While the first reading presents us the embrace of the mercy and justice of God, the Gospel presents us the perfection of justice through love. The Gospel is about the woman surprised in adultery whom Jesus saves from stoning. Some people have been scandalised at the incredible mercy shown by Jesus to this woman. They question, ‘is Jesus condoning the sin of adultery by not having her stoned to death?’ ‘Is He not a little too lenient with adultery?’ Adultery is obviously a very serious sin. It not only violates the ten commandments, it breaks marital covenant and destroys families. Think about all the human suffering and pain it brings; the heart ache, the children who are hurt by it and so on.

Jesus does not intend to say with His gesture that adultery is not a serious sin. In fact, there is an explicit, even if delicate condemnation of adultery in the words addressed to the woman at the end of the scene: “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” The intention of Jesus is first of all to condemn the attitude of those who are always ready to look for and denounce the sins of others. Secondly, He does not want to have her stoned because He came not to destroy but to seek out and save sinners. He came to save that which was lost. His reply contains justice, clemency and truth in full measure. Jesus did not say to the woman, “neither do I condemn you, don’t mind them, go and live as you please.” He said to her, go and sin no more. Being forgiven must go with a resolve not to sin again and a firm purpose of amendment.

When this woman was brought to Jesus, the evangelist said it was to test Him. If He supported the stoning of the woman, He would have messed up His message of mercy and forgiveness. And that could also get Him into trouble with the Romans. If he disapproved the stoning, then He will show Himself to be against the law. And they will find a strong ground to denounce Him. Jesus responded by writing with his finger on the earth. Throughout the centuries, commentators have written volumes trying to analyze what Jesus was writing on the ground. Some, including St Jerome say, he wrote the sins of the people and when they saw their sins, they left in shame. Some say he was simply ignoring the people, a sign of indifference, snubbing them. But the most popular explanation, the one that is taken by St Ambrose and St Augustine and by more recent Catholic biblical scholars is that Jesus is here performing a sign that is a fulfilment of a prophecy.

Jeremiah 17: 13 says, “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake thee shall be put to shame; those who turn away from thee shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.” Our Gospel episode is from John chapter 8 and Jesus is writing on the earth. In John chapter 7, Jesus identified himself as the fountain of living water and out of His heart will flow rivers of living water. When you link up the image of fountain of living water and his writing on the earth and His rejection by the leaders in Jerusalem, then you understand that Jesus is performing a sign of judgment against the leaders of Jerusalem who had rejected Him, the fountain of living water. They are written on the earth as a sign of judgement against them. The same Jeremiah chapter 17: 1 says, “the sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond, it is engraved on the tablet of their heart.

It is a prophetic sign and when they saw the sign Jesus performed, they remembered the words of the prophet against the sinful leaders of Judah. They are convicted and moved by shame, they left one after the other. Jesus turned their trap against them so that they are unable to force Him into either let the woman walk free or authorize her to be stoned.

It is important to note that Jesus did not ask them not to stone the woman. Deuteronomy 22 commanded that such a woman be stoned to death. However, Deuteronomy 17: 6 says, no one shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. There has to be two or three witnesses. So, what happened here is that all the witnesses departed. So, when Jesus looked up, He asked the woman, has no one condemned you? In other words, has no one testified against you? Neither do I, go and sin no more. Jesus charges her to repent. It is a beautiful story of divine mercy and a call to change.

The second reading expresses the truth that once a person experiences the riches of Christ the Lord, he looks down on everything else; property, wealth and honors. He views them as filth for there is nothing that can compare with this supreme treasure, nothing can be placed before it. He distinguishes between “the righteousness of my own” attainable by personal effort and that which comes from God. The former is the righteousness a person can attain by fulfilling the mosaic law; it is a good thing but it is insufficient to give one the full revelation of God in Christ, insufficient to give one a share in the glory of His resurrection. For that, one needs to have the righteousness from God, i.e., the sanctifying grace. Paul here teaches us that we are all called to be holy, but this holiness is not the reward of personal merit, we must rely on God for it.

Happy Sunday

Rev. Fr. Chidi Onwuka MSSCC