Fifth Sunday of Lent

April 6, 2025

John 8: 1-11

Throughout these last few Sundays of Lent we have been dealing with various teachings of Jesus which revolve around forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and beginning again by not sinning. Each has taken its own particular viewpoint. First we had the parable of the fig tree in which the master relented and gave the tree another year to bear fruit. Then we had the parable of the Prodigal Son or of the Loving Father; here we were reminded that the point dealing with sin is to repent to a loving Father who accepts unconditionally, and challenges the ‘upright’ or righteous person to become a new creation of radical compassion and forgiveness. Now, this Sunday, we have the woman caught in the very act of adultery whom Jesus forgives unconditionally, but tells not to sin any more. These remind me of a what Abraham Lincoln said when asked what he will do to the rebellious states of the South when the war was over: “I will treat them as if they had never been away.” If there is anything that these Lenten gospels tells us, it is that we have an unbelievably loving father who will forgive any sin and treat us as if we had never been away, but who expects us to dive into his mercy and compassion and never by separated from him again.

Let us look now at the incident of the woman caught in adultery. The sad thing in the actions of the scribes and pharisees is that they were not so much worried about the sin of the woman, as much as the way Jesus might trip up in answering them. They were not sincerely worried about the woman at all. But Jesus reaction is again speaking about judgment which we humans are all too ready to give about another person. Jesus underlines that point that he does not want a sinner to die, but to repent and live, and that a person should judge not least he or she be judged. As Jesus talks about in another place, we will be judged in the same way as we judge.

Our first reaction to a person who sins is often not a very good one. Unlike a doctor who sees disease and wounds as worthy of a cure, we rather are revolted or want to see the person suffer. We think, ‘I will have nothing more to do with that person; they are not worthy of my attention, but only of contempt. Instead, Jesus offers us a vision of being compassionate: ‘What can I do to help. How can I restore things. What can I do to undo the consequences of the mistake.’

It is important that we see how Jesus did treat this woman. He did not say, ‘oh, don’t worry, it’s all right.’ Rather, Jesus gives the woman time to come back to God and live a life where God is the center. Jesus gives a second chance. He says rather, ‘You’ve made a mess of your life, but its not over; I’m giving you another chance.’ Jesus is always intensely interested, not only in what a person has been, but also in what a person could be. He does not say that wrong actions don’t matter or hurt people, but he does say that we can begin again. Unlike the scribes and pharisees who only want to condemn, Jesus has pity and compassion and exercises the power to forgive. But this forgiveness also involves a challenge: He says, ‘You have done wrong; I can’t change all the consequences of your actions, but instead, go out and change how you act, give the good fight and sin no more.’ Jesus has a great belief in human nature which he, his Father, and the Holy Spirit created in their image. However, even though we have all this encouragement, there is still the aspect of warning: if we do not ‘sin no more’ and turn to God there are consequences to this behavior also. One day, we can be caught short. The emphasis is on repent, turn to me, and change your life.

The real meaning of this passage is not that Jesus is going easy of sin, but that his mercy is inexhaustible and that he does not condemn, but rather he wants a person to come back to him. As soon as a person repents, he or she is restored to his true dignity, like the productive fig tree, the prodigal son or maybe even his older brother.

In doing this, we are offered a new life, a life with God as our companion. The wonderful thing that can happen this fifth Sunday of Lent is that we can put on the compassion of Jesus. We can turn aside from our evil ways of judgment and find ways to offer forgiveness and another chance to those who do wrong, or even closer to home, those who wrong us.

In his book, A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World, Ron Lee Davis tells the true story of a priest in the Philippines, a much-loved man of God who carried the burden of a secret sin he had committed many years ago. He had repented but still had no peace about it. In his parish was a woman who deeply loved God and who claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Christ. The priest, however, was skeptical about that. To test her he said, “The next time you speak with Christ, ask him what sin I committed while I was in the high school.” The woman agreed. A few days later the priest asked, “Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?” “Yes, he did,” she replied. “And did you ask him what sin I — She smiled and answered, “Christ said, ‘I don’t remember.’

Fr. John Tran