Every day of Lent, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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Today, our Gospel tells the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery, a sin that was punishable by death. Her accusers wanted Jesus to pass a severe judgment on her. What they really wanted was to trap him, believing him to be all too merciful. After all, he was known to eat with sinners.
Instead, Jesus turned the tables on these accusers by saying to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Before he said this, the scripture tells us, Jesus was writing something in the sand with his finger. Many believe that he was writing the sins of those who had accused the poor woman.
Seeing that Jesus had begun publicizing their sins in his scribbling in the sand, the men began to depart. They hoped that the wind would blow away their own list of sins, knowing that Jesus could keep writing more of them in the sand. They began to realize that Jesus knew that the number of their own sins was as great as it is for every human being, including the woman they caught in adultery.
Yes, it is easy to judge and accuse others. But before we do that, let’s consider our own sins and be humbled by them. And, also, remember that Jesus did love the woman who was brought to him, but loved her enough to challenge her to “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” That’s the challenge for us too, for God loves us as we are, and he does forgive us when we are sorry, but God loves us to ask us to change from our evil ways. Hear Jesus say to you, “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” And, if you do sin again, be humbled, and learn to be a bit kinder toward the other sinners who inhabit this world with us.