Dear Corpus Christi,
“My child, you are always with me. Everything I have is yours.” (Luke 15:31)
Today’s 1st reading reminds us that God is “always doing something new…do you not perceive it?” Today’s Gospel illustrates that. A woman caught in adultery is presented to Jesus by men who have regard neither for the woman nor Jesus. Trying to trick him, they ask if the woman should be stoned as per Mosaic law. Instead of answering that question directly, Jesus writes on the ground and says that anyone without sin can be the first to stone her. They all leave. In refusing to condemn her, Jesus still warns her to sin no more. She is God’s beloved child, and everything God has is hers, including forgiveness. But though God is with her, that does not mean she should continue sinning. No, she should (in Paul’s words from the 2nd reading) “forget what lies behind, strain forward to what lies ahead…God’s upward calling.”
Reflection questions for this week:Are we tempted to be judgmental toward certain people because of gender, race, or age?
- Are we tempted to be judgmental toward certain people because of the particular sins they commit?
- Which sin primarily would have prevented you from casting the first stone? In other words, which sin are you most guilty of?
- With reference to that sin, how have you tried to “sin no more”?
Pat Fosarelli for the Liturgy Committee