Homily for 5th Sunday of Lent (Year C)
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 125
Philippians 3:8-14
John 8:1-11
Part of my homily given at my home parish (Church of the Visitation, Seremban)
The Woman caught committing adultery.
- Usually when we hear this gospel narrative we will reflect on either Jesus or the woman or the scribes and Pharisees.
- We can identify ourselves with the characters.
Woman = sinner being forgiven by God
Scribes and Pharisees = identify as accusers or always looking out at other people’s sins / mistakes.
or
Reflecting on the gracious mercy and forgiveness of God.
- Today, I invite you to reflect on the missing character in the narrative; i.e. the man.
In the Gospel, the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman who had been caught committing adultery to Jesus. They said, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery….’.
- If she was caught in the very act, then where is the man??
= The man might have been bribed by the Pharisee to go away hiding, because he is not important, the reason for this so called 'trial' of the woman, is basically to test Jesus.
= Or he might be the one bribing the scribes and Pharisees.
= Or he might be one of those accusers waiting in the front line to stone the woman (a good chance of ‘killing’ the evidence – very common nowadays).
- At the end of the gospel, we see that woman received forgiveness but we don't hear of the man's forgiveness.
- Yes, it was by chance she experienced God’s mercy but the man never.
- If only the man took responsibility of his sins / actions; he too will have been forgiven.
- It is all about personal responsibility….about ownership and accountability.
- We can easily identify ourselves with this man, we see he is very much existing in our lives. A character who does not take responsibility.
- Examples:-
1. A parent not taking responsibility over his son/daughter’s actions. (See YOUR son did this….YOUR daughter did that).
2. When the child is learning to walk or run and the child hits a chair or the wall and the parents blame the chair or wall (oh baby, its not your fault, this naughty naughty chair / wall. Beat it..ah beat it…ah you good baby, naughty chair). Eventually the child will grow and learn to blame others. Or he might be violent when dealing with others…any eye for and eye!!! We are teaching the child not to take personal responsibilities.
3. Children using siblings, grandparents or a parent as scape-goats. (He told me to dot it!!! Its all his faults!! Grandpa said its ok).
4. Getting a girl pregnant and not wanting to take responsibility.
5. Getting pregnant and wanting to go for abortion
6. When priest asks why the ministry is in this situation, and the member says he is not responsible (I don’t know, you ask the chairman. I didn’t want to serve here but you only ask me to be involved…its your fault)
- Taking responsibility of the way we live, our sinful life.
- Every action has a consequence just as sin has a consequence (
- God forgives all our sins no matter how big there are.
- We just need to take the step, to go to him with a repentant heart. We need to take personal responsibility of the way we live.
- 1st reading – God can make the impossible possible (dessert --> water / wilderness --> road) So God can sets us free and remove all our guilt.
- Pope’s Lenten and WYD Message (Jesus thirst-->Cries out to be loved and to love)
- God is calling us to renew r’ship with him.
- Just as the woman was brought to trial by ‘chance’ we too have an opportunity to be brought to God. Not a trial, but an encounter of love=Sacrament of reconciliation.
