Sin No More! | Catholics on Call

by Dianne Bergant, C.S.A. | March 14, 2013

Scripture Reflection For The Fifth Sunday in Lent (March 17, 2013)

Scripture Reflection
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126:1-6
Philippians 3:8-14
John 8:1-11

The story of the woman taken in adultery raises several questions. We might first ask: 'How does a person commit adultery alone? Where is the man?' The fact that only the woman was apprehended is an example of the gender bias of Jesus' adversaries. The compassion of Jesus toward this endangered woman is an example of his disregard for such bias. It is probably not by accident that the story is about a woman, and there is more here than gender bias. All of the gospels depict Jesus as especially sensitive to the needs of poor and disadvantaged people, those who have been pushed to the margins of the community. Such treatment was particularly true of women in patriarchal societies. Therefore, the person who stood in shame in the midst of these men was not only guilty of violating marital trust, but she was a marginalized woman. She was doubly vulnerable. This fact serves to heighten Jesus' compassion.

It is clear that the scribes and Pharisees were less interested in upholding the Law of Moses than they were in trapping Jesus. They used the woman to try to accomplish this. They reasoned that if Jesus agreed to her stoning, he would be seen to be as bloodthirsty as were these 'righteous' men. If he protested her execution, he would be opposing Mosaic Law. They had him over a barrel. Or so they thought.

We do not know for sure what Jesus wrote on the ground, but that little detail certainly adds a bit of suspense to the story. It was his spoken words that caught everyone unaware: "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Now he had them over the barrel. According to Jewish custom, the eldest should have begun the stoning. Here the elders were the first to depart. All her accusers gave up their challenge of Jesus. By walking away they virtually dismissed the case against the woman. They had shamed the woman, treating her as a ploy to trap Jesus. Instead, without minimizing her sinfulness, Jesus showed her the respect she deserved as a human being, treating her with compassion. He did not disregard the law, for he exhorted her: "Sin no more." Clearly, he valued repentance and conversion more than just reprisal.

This woman represents all of the people we may have relegated to the margins of society, not merely because we do not approve of their life styles, but because for some reason or other we consider them socially unacceptable. They may not measure up to our standards because of their racial or ethnic origin, class or economic status, religious or political affiliation, etc. We may disdain them because they are too liberal, or too conservative, or too idiosyncratic. Jesus' love was extended to all, regardless of their social status. In imitation of him, so must our love extend to all.

This episode is an example of what Isaiah describes in the first reading: "I am doing something new." And what is the "something new" that God does? We are granted a way out of the deserts of our lives; we are sustained by living waters; we are rescued from the jaws of ravenous beasts. We are forgiven and we are saved from our own sinfulness. This is what the first reading promises; this is what the gospel reading reports.

All this Lent we have reflected on the marvelous goodness of God in our lives. The theme of God's steadfast love culminates on this Sunday before Holy Week. Both the psalm verses and the reading from Paul direct us to respond to such divine graciousness with joy and gratitude. We have been brought back from captivity, and we are filled with joy; God has done great things for us; and we are filled with joy. Paul, himself a forgiven sinner, has been completely transformed by his faith in Christ Jesus. His life is an example of the gospel exhortation: "Sin no more." He left his former life behind as he launched out into the "something new" that God had in store for him, and he did it with no regret.

On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, we stand on the brink of Holy Week, the time set apart for us to reflect seriously on the ultimate realization of God's compassionate love for us. The readings remind us that we cannot stand self-righteously and condemn the lives of others when God is calling them tenderly to conversion. We cannot cling to the past which may be so comfortable and even socially acceptable, when God is "doing something new " in us. We live in a world that desperately needs "something new." This wondrous newness of God will be born out of conversion, not coercion; it will spring from repentance, not reprisal. It will take shape in the councils of the world, in the boardrooms of the workplace, at the tables of families. We are all called to "sin no more."

Image: "Stones" by Brunhilde Reinig
Source: www.publicdomainpictures.net

Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

Dianne Bergant, C.S.A. is Professor of Biblical Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. She holds a BS in Elementary Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, WI; an MA and PhD in Biblical Languages and Literature from St. Louis University.

Dianne Bergant was President of the Catholic Biblical Association of America (2000-1) and has been an active member of the Chicago Catholic/Jewish Scholars Dialogue for the past twenty years. For more than fifteen years, she was the Old Testament book reviewer of The Bible Today. Bergant was a member of the editorial board of that magazine for twenty-five years, five of those years she served as the magazine’s general editor. She is now on the editorial board of Biblical Theology Bulletin, and Chicago Studies. From 2002 through 2005, Bergant wrote the weekly column "The Word" for America magazine. She is currently working in the areas of biblical interpretation and biblical theology, particularly issues of peace, ecology, and feminism.