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Scripture Reflection, March 21, 2010: The Past is Behind Us

Scripture Readings:
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Phillippians 3:8-14
John 8:1-11

The readings for the 5th week of Lent begin with a selection from Isaiah. We hear the prophet telling the people of Israel to forget the exodus event because God is “doing something new”. He calls on Israel to prepare for the new life God has in store for his chosen people. The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians. In this reading, Paul stresses that a person’s relationship with God is more important than anything. “For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” He also calls us to forget what lies in our past and to strain forward to what lies ahead of us, which ultimately lies in “God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.” In the Gospel passage from John, we find Jesus again being tested by the Scribes and Pharisees. The Scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in the act of adultery before Jesus and ask whether they should stone her according to the Law of Moses. His response is one we’re all familiar with “Let the one among you without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” At this, the crowd that had gathered to stone the woman quickly disappeared. Instead of condemning the woman, we see Jesus forgive her, telling her to “Go and from now on do not sin any more.”

In the Gospel reading, for this, the fifth week of Lent, I would like to identify the four types of people present in the story, and want to ask you the question “which person have you been up until this point in Lent?”

Are you one of the Pharisees and Scribes, quick to condemn the misdeeds of someone else, while being able to dismiss your own short comings?

Are you the woman caught in the act of committing adultery, someone who was apprehended in the act of sin, someone who has taken a step in the wrong direction, been caught, and is subsequently left to suffer at the hands of the public?

Are you one of the bystanders or a passerby, the sort of person who doesn’t want to get involved in the matter, more concerned about watching out for themselves, or are too afraid to step up to the crowd and put an end to an obvious injustice?

Are you Jesus, the one who is not afraid to stand up and challenge the crowd, and is even willing to risk himself to stand up for someone in need?

John reminds us that like the woman caught committing adultery, we are all sinners. When Jesus says to the crowd, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,” he quickly finds himself alone with the woman. While we are all sinners, this week’s readings call us to put the past behind us. In the first reading, from Isaiah, we read that we are supposed to “remember not the events of the past, the things long ago consider not” (Isaiah 43:18). Paul’s letter to the Philippians again asks us to “forget what lies behind us” while adding that we should “strain forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14).

This week, while we’re reminded of our sinfulness, we’re called to put it behind us. Jesus asks the adulterer, “Has no one condemned you?” To which she replies “no one, sir.” Then Jesus says “neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” (John 8:10-11)

So who is it, which person are you in this week’s Gospel story? Our Lenten journey may be coming to a close, but there is still plenty of time to change. Through our fasting and penance, we come to share in Christ’s suffering. It is my Lenten prayer that we may begin to put our sinful pasts behind us, pursue the goal, do not sin anymore, and share in Christ’s coming resurrection.

by Josh Jones

Josh is a 2008 Catholics on Call alumnus and a senior at St. Norbert College in De Pere Wisconsin. He will be graduating in May as a History and Political Science double major.

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