Fifth Sunday of Lent C.  March 21, 2010.  Our Lady of Grace 7:30, 11:30.  Isaiah 43: 16-21. Philippians 3:8-14. John 8: 1-11.

The Hebrew Bible – our Old Testament – is very clear about the sin of adultery.  The Book of Leviticus says: "If a man commits adultery with another man's wife or with his neighbor's wife, both he and the woman must be put to death for their adultery.”  (20:10) The Book of Deuteronomy says “If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil”. (22:22) The Bible takes marriage vows and the relationship of husband and wife in marriage very seriously.  Sexuality is a great gift and the family is the major building block of society.  Even the best of marriages demands hard work and can be a struggle at times, yet a sin against marriage is a threat to the foundation of society.  While there are marriages that just don’t work for any number of very serious reasons, adultery is never a totally private matter. We all know of well-known public figures that were not faithful to their marriage partners.  I am currently reading a life of Thomas Jefferson who had a long lasting sexual relationship with one of his slaves and one or more children with her. Some would say that what people do in private doesn’t matter as long as they do their public jobs. Marriage is never a private matter.  Marriage is a public contract and a relationship affirmed by a state marriage license and often strengthened by a religious ceremony.  When marriage is in trouble society is in trouble and children are often troubled.  While a death sentence for adultery is not something that most of us would vote for, yet hearing the teachings of the Law of Moses on adultery in church today reminds us how very important faithfulness in marriage is.

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.  They said to Jesus, ‘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?”   The scribes and the Pharisees are bending the Scriptures in a way that is offensive to us in a less sexist society and was probably offensive to Jesus too.  In fact, the Law of Moses says that both the man and the woman who commit adultery are to be put to death.  It is hard to believe that if the woman was caught in the very act of adultery that there was no man involved.  Where is the man?   Why is only the woman presented to Jesus for judgment and punishment?   It is very easy to apply commandments, expectations and standards in a way that does not include us and at the same time say that we are only doing to the other person what God’s law demands.  

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. He was silent for a while and everyone listened for his opinion. They had heard that Jesus was compassionate – too compassionate – and they wanted to see if he would chose compassion toward the woman over what the Law of Moses demanded.  When Jesus stood up he turned the tables on the scribes and Pharisees.  Jesus said, “All right, I only ask that you men be honest.  Let the man among you who has not sinned against the Law of Moses be the first one to throw a stone at her.”   The scribes and the Pharisees had not made the man caught in the same act of adultery stand before Jesus.  They had let the man go. Jesus would not let the men who stood before him go unchallenged. They were sinners too, even though they hid from their sin and used this poor woman to make themselves look good and the woman look bad. Aren’t women more likely to be caught in the act of adultery than men – and men less likely to be caught and punished?  Is that fair?  Jesus knew that the men were sinners too, so he said, “Let the one among you who is without sin throw the first stone.”  The men were hanging the title sinner and adulterer on the woman and refusing to see it in themselves.  When Jesus exposed their blindness to their own sins, the men began going away beginning with the oldest, the ones that had the longest list of sins.

This gospel doesn’t end there.  Jesus looked at the woman and said, “Woman, where are the ones who condemned you?  Has no one condemned you?”   She said, “No one sir.”  Jesus replied, “Neither do I condemn you.  Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

Jesus certainly does not approve of the woman’s sin. Even more, Jesus believes that the woman can actually do what he asks her to do.  He believes that she can go on with her life and sin no more.   God’s compassion is a gift that gives us the opportunity and the time to change our lives.  If the woman had been executed she would have died in her sin.  Jesus believed that the woman could be saved and his compassion protected her so that she could live a better life.  The Catholic Church has come to see that capital punishment is almost always wrong not only because it takes a human life which is sacred to God, but also because the Church believes that people can change with God’s grace.  The compassionate words of Jesus, “Go and sin no more” empower this woman to change her life. The compassion of Jesus for every sinner, even the most hardened criminals on death row, is aimed at their conversion.  Jesus is compassionate toward us when we sin, not because Jesus doesn’t care about sin, but because God wants us to have the time to change our lives. Jesus has a very kind heart for sinners.

You who know our fears and sadness,

grace us with your peace and gladness.

Spirit of all comfort, fill our hearts..........

Healer of our every ill,

        Light of each tomorrow,

give us peace beyond our fear,

and hope beyond our sorrow.

May the compassionate love of Jesus Christ forgive our sins and heal our lives.