DAY 5 - LENT & CONFESSION/RECONCILIATION

GOSPEL > John 8:2-11    Early in the morning [Jesus] arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “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 any more.”

DAY 5 > MEDITATION    Out of their hiding places will come certain types of reporters, some of them we find less than reputable, but out of their hiding places they will come if these photographers/reporters (paparazzi, too) sense even the slightest bit of impropriety.

They will pounce on their prey with their flashbulbs, lenses, and microphones. And, as we have been taught about journalism and -- even e-mail – the pen is mightier than the sword, even if your “paper” is really a computer screen and the only “ink” is in your printer.

In such a world, even the digital camera in our phones could be a lethal weapon to capture an image that could damage someone’s reputation. It’s a small world after all. And, we never know who is watching. Not good news.

The Pharisees want to make a visible example of this person, of her sins, so as to levy punishment. They want a public confession and punishment.

And, if this were our view of confession, we would also prefer to hide from the cameras and microphones.

Visibility of sins – and sinfulness - for Jesus our Lord – is, on the one hand, about law and order. But it is a law and order without attorneys and prisons. Better news.

For example, in the sacrament of confession – this sacrament of forgiveness – we are invited to bring ourselves forward into the light. But, there will be no flash photography permitted. It is between you and Christ.

In other words, to confess our sins to our priest, we do this not because we fear the “crowd ” .In other words, we do not fear that the crowd will take our lives away.

Rather, we do this because we believe that sin can take our lives away, sin can take the life out of us.

And, when we confess our sins, we admit – and we ask God to give our life back to us.

Jesus is committed to teach us about the seriousness of our sins while also emphasizing the strength of his mercy.

The Pharisees and scribes, as prosecutors, do not agree with this defense strategy. They would suggest that repentance is only possible for those who already good and just.

But what Jesus suggests to the Pharisees and scribes and paparazzi is that – “They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. For I came not to call the just, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)

Jesus intercedes with his mercy for sinners, for you and for me, and just as he intercedes for the woman in the Gospel.

Jesus is also more interested in our motives and repentance than in the sins themselves. Jesus says to her, “Then, neither do I condemn you … Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

Jesus offers us his forgiveness and his intercession in his Passion, Death and Resurrection, so that we also might be prepared to live in freedom.

He even intercedes for us in the public square right out there where everyone can see us, so that we might live in freedom both in public and in private. That’s the Good News.

DAY 5 > REFLECTIONS & QUESTIONS

 This episode of individual forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery happens at the Jerusalem Temple, signifying the connection among both private and public devotion to God.

 Catholic Catechism n. 583 Like the prophets before him Jesus expressed the deepest respect for the Temple in Jerusalem. It was in the Temple that Joseph and Mary presented him forty days after his birth. At the age of twelve he decided to remain in the Temple to remind his parents that he must be about his Father's business. He went there each year during his hidden life at least for Passover. His public ministry itself was patterned by his pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the great Jewish feasts.

 DAY 5 – QUESTION 1 – How can I renew my commitment to a personal relationship with Jesus, while also continuing my responsibility to pray with the Catholic community and Sunday Mass?

 DAY 5 – QUESTION 2 – What difficulties and distractions do I find at Sunday Mass or at church? How can I prepare myself, before going to church so that I can be in God’s presence? (E.g., waking up earlier? Taking time for silence at home before leaving for church, praying for the difficult person that I will meet along the way?)