The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves
those who hope in him. They rose up
against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of
perjury. According to the Law of Moses, they
inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbor: they
put them to death. Thus was innocent
blood spared that day. Daniel 13:60-62
“Let the one among you who is without sin be the
first to throw a stone at her.” Again he
bent down and wrote on the ground. And
in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before
him. Then Jesus straightened up and said
to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no
one condemned you?” She replied, “No
one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do
I condemn you. Go, and from now on do
not sin anymore.” John 8:7-11
Piety
O my God, I am heartily sorry
for having offended thee like the accusers of Susanna and the woman caught in
adultery. We are not worthy for you to
enter under our roof. However, we know that
all we have to do is turn to you and our sins will be forgiven. Amen.
Study
Easy it would be to write
about the difference in the Lord sparing the innocent Susanna and forgiving the
presumed guilty woman caught in adultery.
However, the different parallel is seen in the accusers.
Jesus challenges
them: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a
stone at her.” Such a line also
could have been used by Daniel. That
approach might have saved Susanna, too, because the accusers in both the Hebrew
Bible and the New Testament are not without sin.
The love that Jesus
injects is to NOT condemn the accusers – either those who accuse the woman of
adultery or those who accuse Jesus of heresy.
Even the accusers who have sinned will not be condemned by Jesus. After all, he did not come into the world to
condemn us but to save us. This shows how Jesus acts out the words from John’s
Good News: “For God did
not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does
not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name
of the only Son of God. (John 3:17-18)
While Susanna’s innocent
blood was spared and Lazarus was brought back to life, in the end, the innocent
blood of Jesus will not be spared but it will flow out and back into the Earth
until he redeems the sins of all accusers.
Action
Who do you rush to
judge? Politicians? Entertainers?
Business people who get rich off our work? Your neighbor? Have you spent time discerning if you are
without sin? Have you spent time
considering whether they have truly sinned.
Do you have what it takes to cast the first stone?
We are in the prime season
to participate in the sacrament of Reconciliation to atone for the sinfulness
we share with all accusers. Because of
the central importance of Easter, the Church requires all Catholics who
have made their First Communion receive the Holy Eucharist sometime
during the Easter season, which lasts through Pentecost Sunday, 50 days
after Easter. We also should take part
in the Sacrament of Penance before receiving this Easter communion.
As we enter the final week
of Lent before the Triduum, this reception of the Eucharist and Penance is a
visible sign of our faith and our participation in the Kingdom of God. (Naturally,
we can receive Communion daily or as frequently as possible. Our "Easter Duty" is simply the
minimum requirement set by the Church.)
No comments:
Post a Comment