John 8:1-11 The Woman Caught in Adultery (5th Sunday of Lent, March 13, 2016)

Gospel:

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.”

Gospel Trivia:

This is the only passage where Jesus writes.  What did he write?

Biblical scholars speculate that it could be:

- a reference to a passage in Jeremiah 17:13: "Those who turn away from God shall be written on the earth (referring to dry parched earth, away from springs of water)",

or

- a show of disinterest (as when one is doodling),

or

- maybe, Jesus was writing the names of the people who also had an affair with that woman.

The latter is probable because in Jewish law, the first stone meant to kill a person guilty of a major crime is cast by the first hand witnesses.  The implication, therefore, is if you are a witness, how did you happen to be a witness?  And if you are a witness, how can you be without guilt?  The witness must have known of the reputation of the woman, and he might have been snooping.

But Jesus' message is something more powerful than not judging others, but the importance of change; and that conversion can happen when there is someone who will accept a guilty person regardless of his/her wrongdoing.  

That’s the way it is in business, or parenting, or in our spiritual life.  It is the boss who did not fire you after you committed the biggest blunder in your life who changed you.  Your parents who loved you even though you came home one early morning after your car figured in an accident.  Your teacher who did not give up on you, the friend who did not abandon you, and so on.  These are the people who changed us.

In the unforgettable words of St. Augustine: "At the end, only two are left: the miserable woman and Mercy."

Reference:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 110-112.
- Various lecture notes from Masteral course in Maryhill School of Theology.