5th Sunday of Lent

Like the prophets who preceded him, Jesus’ life and ministry was tied to the Temple in Jerusalem. It was there that he was presented by Mary and Joseph as an infant. It was there that he held the priests and scribes spellbound at the age of twelve. It was there, as an adult, that his ministry was centered, especially during the week leading up to his passion.

In today’s Gospel (John 8:1-11), we hear of one particular visit to the Temple during the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus was teaching a large group of people in the Temple courtyard when a group of scribes and Pharisees interrupt him and say: “ Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” Jesus knows that the scribes and Pharisees are setting a trap, and he doesn’t answer right away, Instead, he writes in the dirt. There has been much speculation over the centuries as to exactly what Jesus wrote or drew in the dirt. We simply don’t know for certain since it is not recorded in Scripture.

The scribes and Pharisees pressed him for an answer, so Jesus responded by saying: “ Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Her accusers have nothing to say in response to that challenge, and one by one they walk away. Once Jesus and the woman are alone, he asks her: “ Where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replies: “ No one, sir,” and he tells her, “ Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Jesus is the one without sin, the only one with the right to judge, but he doesn’t. He dismisses the woman and her accusers without condemning them. This gives us true insight into the merciful nature of God.

Elsewhere in John’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that “ he who has seen me has seen the Father.” In Colossians, Saint Paul, who encountered the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus, calls Jesus “ the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), and in today’s Second Reading from the letter to the Philippians, Paul says that knowing Jesus is “ the supreme good” (Phil 3:8). We don’t have the privilege that the disciples had of seeing Jesus in the flesh. We don’t have the privilege that Paul had of encountering the Risen Lord in heavenly glory. Instead, we know Jesus through the teachings of the Apostles, through Sacred Scripture, through the teachings of the Church, and through the Sacraments, to name a few ways.

In Jesus, we see God entering his Temple and dwelling among his people. And we see the true nature of God. Not a God of harsh judgment, but a God of forgiveness. Not a God of wrath, but a God of mercy. Not a God who conquers by the sword, but a God who conquers by the Cross.