A Second Chance

Fifth Sunday of Lent

13 March 2016

First reading                                                                             Isaiah 43:16-21

Thus says the Lord,

who made a way through the sea,

a path in the great waters;

who put chariots and horse in the field

and a powerful army

which lay there never to rise again,

snuffed out, put out like a wick:

No need to recall the past,

no need to think about what was done before.

See, I am doing a new deed,

even now it comes to light; can you not see it?

Yes, I am making a road in the wilderness,

paths in the wilds.

The wild beasts will honour me,

jackals and ostriches,

because I am putting water in the wilderness

(rivers in the wild)

to give my chosen people drink.

The people I have formed for myself

will sing my praises.

 

Psalm                                                                            Psalm 125:1-6

             

Second reading                                                         Philippians 3:8-14

I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me. I can assure you my brothers, I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus.
 

Gospel                                                                      John 8:1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

  The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there. He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do not sin any more.’

Reflection

By Grace B. Madriñan

“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 anymore.” – John 8:10-11
 

These are the words that struck me from this week’s Gospel.  I was placing myself in the position of the woman who was being mocked by the crowd.  Imagine the shame and the fear of the woman, the feeling of someone about to be put to death. It was not mentioned in the Gospel if the woman pleaded for her life or even asked for forgiveness. I imagined her being quiet, allowing the crowd to do as they please to the point of stoning her to death. She was hopeless, maybe even thinking that dying in their hands can be a good end for her misery.

But Jesus saved her -- not just from being stoned to death, but He saved her from her own life. Jesus gave her a second chance. He did not see her sins, He saw her heart. Despite her sinfulness, Jesus may have seen her capacity and need for love. And Jesus gave her that, she forgave and loved her.

How marvelous the woman must have felt after hearing those words from Jesus. It must have felt as if a heavy stone is being lifted from the woman’s chest.  After this encounter, she may have become one of Jesus’ disciples and followed Him around as He preached all over town. She may have been one of the ladies in Jesus’ foot when He was crucified on the cross.  One thing is for sure, her life was changed forever by that encounter.
 

The good news is we do not need to be almost stoned to death to feel the same powerful mercy of God. We do not need to go on carrying our guilt to call on the Father to rescue us. We have access to God’s overflowing mercy every time we pray and ask forgiveness for our sins, whenever we reconcile to God during the Mass and most especially whenever we do confession and penance. We need not wait for God to be our last option – He is our only hope.

 

Prayer  

Father, we are overwhelmed by Your love for us. You have pulled out us from the gutter of sins and robed us with Your divine mercy. May Your abounding forgiveness be our inspiration to do the same for our erring neighbors. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.