Last week, we heard the very well-known parable of the prodigal son where we heard, once again, of God’s abundant mercy and forgiveness. Today, we hear the equally well-known account of Jesus’ encounter with the scribes and Pharisees and a woman caught in the act of adultery. Once again, we hear of God’s mercy. This unnamed woman has become famous because Jesus saved her from a crowd that was out to get him. This woman was just like the bait on a fisherman’s hook; Jesus was the fish they were after. Notice, the gospel writer tells us that they brought this woman to Jesus to test him so that they could have some charge to bring against him. If he sided with the woman, they could accuse him of denying the authority of Moses. On the other hand, if he sided with the scribes and Pharisees, he would be contradicting his clear teaching about God’s love and mercy and the crowds that followed him would be left wondering about this apparent contradiction.
Of course, Jesus knows that the scribes and Pharisees are setting a trap, and he’s ready for them. He doesn’t answer right away. Instead he writes in the dirt. No one knows what he was writing. Have you ever wondered? Was he listing the sins of the accusers? Or, perhaps, was it the relevant passage from the Jewish Law that condemned both partners in an adulterous relationship. He couldn’t help but notice that the man who was involved in this adulterous event was conspicuously absent. After all, the law called for both to be stoned to death.
The scribes and Pharisees press him, and he answers, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” They have nothing to say in response, and one by one they walk away. Once Jesus and the woman are alone, he asks her, “Where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replies, “No one, sir,” and he tells her, “neither do I condemn you.”
Jesus is the only one without sin, the only one with the right to condemn this woman, but he doesn’t. He dismisses the woman without condemning her. This says a lot about Jesus and the invisible, merciful God whom he has come to make visible through clear acts of mercy.
Elsewhere in John’s Gospel, we hear Jesus tell his disciples that “he who has seen me has seen the Father.” In his letter to the Colossians, Saint Paul, who saw the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, calls him “the image of the invisible God” and in today’s reading from his letter to the Philippians, we hear St. Paul say that knowing Jesus is “the supreme good.” We don’t have the privilege that the disciples had of seeing Jesus in the flesh. We don’t have the privilege that Paul had of seeing the Risen Lord in heavenly glory. But, we do come to know Jesus through sacred Scripture, through the teachings of the Church and through the sacraments. And, like the apostles, and all followers of Christ after them, we are called to make Jesus known to the world because, in knowing Jesus, we all get to know God.
St. Augustine wrote so powerfully in his commentary on the gospel passage that we hear this morning: “As the sinner faces the sinless one, human misery meets divine mercy.” Remember the root of our English word “mercy” is the Latin word “misericordia.” From the depth of his heart – the Latin word for heart is cordis – God accompanies us in our misery. In Jesus, we see God dwelling among his people. And we see the kind of God he is. Not a God of condemnation, but a God of forgiveness. Not a God of wrath, but a God of mercy. Not a God who conquers by the sword, but a God who conquers by the cross.
Of course, Jesus doesn’t let the woman remain in her sinful ways. He calls her to repentance, saying, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” That’s what Lent helps us to focus on every year. It’s an opportunity to both experience God’s mercy and to repent and return to him, just like the young man in last week’s gospel did, just as Jesus calls the woman standing before him to do in today’s gospel.
This is the God who is making something truly new, as we hear in today’s first reading. Something the world has not seen or can even imagine. The world is too much like the scribes and Pharisees, eager to judge and condemn others. We are invited to be part of this something new, a kingdom where love and mercy reign, where we repent of our sinful ways and return to the Lord. As we quickly come to the end of our Lenten journey – next Sunday begins Holy Week – let us be grateful to God for the mercy he has extended to each of us and, in turn, let us be merciful to those we meet in our everyday lives. That will prepare us to walk closely with Jesus as he goes to Jerusalem to suffer and die and then, to do something completely new – rise from the dead to a new life in the Resurrection. That’s where we all want to be!