Psalm 125
Philippians 3:8-14
John 8:1-11
“NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU”
Last Sunday, we meditated on the compassion of God in the parable of the prodigal son. Today, the story of the woman caught in adultery expresses the incredible forgiveness of Christ. He is the face of God’s mercy. In telling the woman “neither do I condemn you; go away and sin no more”, Jesus gives her another chance to begin afresh, to start a new life free from sin. The past is forgotten.
Indeed, God does not keep in memory our past. He wants to make things new and great in our lives. Thus in the first reading he tells the Israelites through the prophet Isaiah: “No need to recall the past, no need to think about what was done before. See, I am doing new deed…”
Similarly, in the second reading, after his encounter with Christ, St Paul considered everything as rubbish because of his knowledge of Christ. Knowing Christ for him is more than anything else. Henceforth, he forgets the past and is straining ahead for what lies ahead of him.
The story of the adulterous woman has a lot to teach us. But I would like to highlight only three lessons. First, we are all sinners. Thus, we should not be quick to accuse, to judge, to condemn, or even wish to do away with the wrongdoer, or expose the nakedness of the sinner. Second, the encounter between the adulterous woman and Jesus is a miniature of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation or confession. God does not condemn us. The confessional is not a tribunal where we wait to be sentenced. We go to be forgiven and freed from the burden of sin that weighs upon us.
Lastly, we should not take the mercy and forgiveness of God as a license to sin. The compassionate attitude of Jesus in this story does not condone sin but focuses on the person. He urges the woman to convert, to change her sinful way of life. May we too accept this invitation to conversion and inner transformation so as to break with our past by living a life of faith in the Lord. Amen.
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