by Msgr. Joseph Calise
It was the summer of 1977. I had just completed my first year at the North American College and was able to get a summer job with the American Department of Defense. I was to be the chaplain’s assistant at an Army base in Germany. One of my duties was to conduct a discussion group for military wives. Today’s Gospel was our topic, and one of the ladies had much to say.
She recounted a time, early in her husband’s career, when she and several other military wives noticed one lady doing a lot of shopping and paying with the equivalent of food stamps, which nonmilitary civilians could use at the camp store. Judgment was passed immediately. They knew what her husband’s salary was and were sure that she was somehow beating the system. One of the ladies, in an attempt to expose the misbehavior, decided to follow her one day and get a better view of her house, garden, etc. — to be able to make a better case that she did not merit these discount coupons.
What she discovered instead was that the woman was shopping for several elderly neighbors and that the stamps were theirs, not hers. The burden of guilt passed quickly from the woman’s behavior to those standing in judgment. In today’s Gospel, the woman is caught in adultery. There was no question as to her guilt — she was caught.
The Pharisees knew Mosaic law and were well aware that they had the legal authority to stone her. They choose not to exercise their authority but rather to take the opportunity to test Jesus. Will he openly contradict Mosaic law or publicly approve this stoning? In either case, Jesus would lose some credibility. Aware that this was much more than a legal question, Jesus shifts the discussion from her guilt to their standing in judgment. His simple admonition that “the one without sin should cast the first stone” put those same Pharisees into a position where either they had to drop their rocks or profess sinlessness. It was they, now, who were bound to lose credibility.
One by one, they walk away. Unlike her accusers, the woman stays and places herself at the mercy of Jesus. He does not condemn her but also does not condone her behavior. “Go, and from now on, sin no more,” is a beautiful but challenging farewell. Her encounter with Christ is expected to make her a better person. In these last days of Lent, we are invited to reflect on our growth this season.
We began with the Ash Wednesday admonition to “turn from sin and be faithful to the Gospel,” or to “remember that we are dust and unto dust we shall return.” Both are a call to have fidelity to Christ as our purpose in life. With the victory of Easter so close, may we rejoice that we stand before Christ, who always invites us to be better.
Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent
Isaiah 43:16-21
Philippians 3:8-14
John 8:1-11
Msgr. Joseph P. Calise is the pastor of Transfiguration-St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Maspeth.