Reflection for the 5th Sunday of Lent, Year C, by Rev. Fr Theodore Martinos.
We’re gradually winding down to the end of this holy season. If you’ve been making efforts to follow the Lenten observances (Prayer, Fasting/Abstinence, Charity) wholeheartedly, you’ll see the need to thank God for his love and Mercy, you’ll also discover a greater consciousness and awareness of your iniquities and sins.
Lent Creates an opportunity to see what God has been doing for us, how he doesn’t relate with us out of Anger but out of Love❤ and Mercy.
In today’s Reflection, everything is centered on Mercy, he related with us out Love at the beginning of Creation but since the fall of Adam and Eve till today and even tomorrow, he has been relating with us out of Mercy.
In the readings of today, we see a God, who’s Merciful, Just and Patient, putting in context the adulterous woman brought before him in the Gospel.
A woman was brought into the temple placed in the middle amidst condemnations and accusations of of Adultery! Before the divine master of mercy – Jesus.
Adultery is when someone or two persons who have been unfaithful, engages in sexual relationship. It’s a question of Infidelity and Faithfulness. And according to the woman’s accusers in the Gospel today, the Law of Moses States that Any person caught in the act of adultery(Both the Adulterer and adulteress) deserves to be stoned to death.
I’ll delve a bit into unfaithfulness, taking a cue from yesterday’s Lenten retreat anchored by Rev. Fr Jude Dimonyekwere, themed,” Come back to Me, Unfaithful Isreal”. In other words, Come back to me, you ‘adulterous’ parishioner – anyone who is unfaithful to God has no other name but an Adulterer❕ A shameful name to be called‼
The Retreat Preacher took us back to the third chapter of Jerimiah 3:6 – During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there
God is disappointed and saying to each and everyone, have you seen how unfaithful and adultrerous you have been to me⁉
Is there anyone that had not sinned❓
Just as Romans 3:23 will say – 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
It therefore means that no one can absolve himself of the sin of Unfaithfulness❕In this Season of Lent, I know there are still some persons that have not returned back to God. They still literally Look at God in the Face and say,” God, what can you do even if I don’t come back” and that’s an insult to the Mercy of God!
The Adulterous woman was brought before Jesus, Albeit, the people who brought her were community members, they said, ” Moses Commanded us to Stone such to death”, which means there’s a punishment for Unfaithfulness, but did God approve of the punishment of Death – NO.
Even St Paul in his letter to the Romans 6:23 said “ For the wages of sin is death”
Perhaps, the Most Fortunate thing about that woman is that she was brought before Jesus.
Jesus didn’t even look at the woman’s face as some of us will look at our children when they have offended you that may frighten them and may cause them to repent out of fear which is not a true repentance but an halfway or fake repentance.
Jesus avoided to gaze at the woman in order not to instill fear in her, the anger of God was shifted away from the woman.
The anger of God is shifted from anyone who is brought before Jesus ‼
Do you allow yourself the opportunity to have the anger of God shifted away from your life ⁉
That’s Why I sympathize with Catholics who do not go to confession on a regular basis❗Honestly, I don’t know how you cope, not allowing your sin to bring you before Jesus. Something happens each time you’re brought before Jesus, the punishment which originally is Death is totally forgotten! As is said in the first reading of today Isaiah 43: 16-21,”till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out and quenched like a wick.
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not
A story was once told of a young girl whom God appeared to in a dream and told her to tell his Bishop(The Bishop of her diocese) that he should build a church for him, the Bishop on hearing the Little girl, waived it off and laughed over it, after two more apparitions, the Bishop,getting infuriated, told the girl to ask God what he his Last sin was(He had already gone for confession). The girl came back and said, he(God) said he cannot remember! At that point, the Bishop believed her❗
And that is what happens at the Confessional, Confession is like an exodus, running away from the Land of Sin to Grace, the Land of slavery to freedom, Darkness to Light, Condemnation to Justification.
Jesus, instead of Condemning the Woman, Scribbled some words on the ground which has a lot of interpretations.
One of which is that,he bent down and wrote on the ground connecting with the earth with which the woman was made.
Another interpretation is be that he bent down and started writing the sins of the chief priests, Pharisees and all those who brought her. When they saw their sins, they dropped their stones and Left❗Some other interpretation could be that he bent down and rewrote the law of Moses that stated Death as a penalty for Adultery but Jesus changed that to a Law of Mercy and Forgiveness!
There are about two places in the Bible where we see the finger of God writing, the first is in the ten commandments and today when faced with the “Adulterous” woman!
Yet another interpretation is that when Jesus started writing, there was Utter silence amongst until he spoke to the woman. During that period of silence, Jesus was gathering all those who came to condemn the woman with the woman in question, all as one! And said to them – You all are one Sinful Humanity!
Just as St Paul in his letter to the Romans 11:32, “His Love has made us all prisoners of Disobedience”
Jesus brought the woman accusers and the woman into one Prison! He makes all Men Prisoners of Disobedience that he might show his abundance of Mercy to them.
ARE YOU LIKE THAT ‘ADULTEROUS’ WOMAN❓
Let Us use this remaining part of Lent to bring your Shamefulness before Jesus and tell him to remove the garment of your shame caused by Sin and Cloth you with the garment of Beauty!
Tell him to Liberate and save you from the condemnation your sin has placed upon you.
Today, Jesus says to those who are in the habit of lifting themselves above others, he says, you are not any better!
All of us who carry a stone in our hands to condemn others, have sinned, We’re all prisoners of Disobedience and Unfaithfulness.
May the Mercy of God Save Us✝
SUNDAY SCHOOL CORNER
