4/6/25 - 5th Sunday of Lent

Call to Transformative Love

Once in a great while the Universities of higher learning experiment with their curriculum and length of semesters and number of credits for Degree qualification. Our batch of 1983 for priesthood in North East India, from the Sacred Heart College in Shillong affiliated to Università Pontificia Salesiana, Rome, was asked to return to the College after our stipulated four years of learning and priestly ordination for another six months of courses in pastoral ministry and appear for another examination in front of a panel of professors to qualify to receive the faculty to hear confession. This arrangement was not well received by our batch. Fortunately for us the professor who prepared us to hear confession was a highly experienced Priest with many years in Parish Ministry. It was at this course that I received a fresh understanding of the Gospel passage about the woman caught in adultery. Our professor impressed upon us that at the sacrament of reconciliation, the priest’s role is not that of a judge or prosecutor, but that of a wounded healer, a conduit of God’s love and mercy who expressed admiration and gratitude to the person returning to God’s unconditional forgiveness. 

The encounter between Jesus and the woman caught in adultery is a powerful testament to the transformative power of compassion, forgiveness, and grace. This story, our Gospel for this fifth Sunday of Lent, found in John 8:1-11, offers profound insights into human nature, divine wisdom, and the path to redemption.

Early one morning, as Jesus taught in the temple courts, a group of scribes and Pharisees interrupted His lesson. They brought before Him a woman caught in the act of adultery, making her stand before the crowd. This public spectacle was not only humiliating for the woman but also a calculated attempt to trap Jesus.

The accusers presented Jesus with a moral dilemma: "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?" Their question was a clever trap. The man, the partner in crime was let off. If Jesus advocated for the woman's stoning, He would contradict His message of mercy and forgiveness. If He suggested leniency, He could be accused of disregarding Mosaic Law.

Jesus' response to this challenge was both unexpected and profound. Instead of answering immediately, He bent down and began writing on the ground with His finger. This action, shrouded in mystery, has been the subject of much speculation throughout history. Perhaps Jesus was writing the sins of the accusers, or maybe He was simply allowing tension to build, giving the accusers time to reflect on their own motives or was He  buying time.

When pressed for an answer, Jesus straightened up and delivered one of the most memorable lines in scripture: "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." With these words, Jesus masterfully upheld the law while simultaneously extending mercy. He turned the accusers' attention from the woman's sin to their own hearts, challenging them to examine their own lives before passing judgment on others.

The impact of Jesus' words was immediate and profound. One by one, the accusers departed, beginning with the elders. This exodus reveals the universal nature of sin and the power of self-reflection. In that moment, each person was forced to confront their own imperfections and shortcomings. This scene serves as a powerful reminder that we are all flawed and in need of grace. It challenges us to approach others with humility and compassion, recognizing that we too have fallen short of perfection and are in fact ‘wounded healers.’

Left alone with the woman, Jesus demonstrated the perfect balance of grace and accountability. He asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" When she answered that no one had, Jesus replied, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." The woman is given a new lease of life to pursue holiness. In this brief exchange, Jesus exemplified the essence of divine love. He offered the woman forgiveness without condemnation, while also calling her to a higher standard of living. This approach embodies the transformative power of grace – it does not merely excuse sin but empowers individuals to overcome it. In a world often quick to condemn and slow to forgive, the story of the woman caught in adultery serves as a beacon of hope and a model for transformative love. It reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of grace and that compassion has the power to change lives. 

Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O.