Apr
07
2019
By Anonymous (not verified)
The Marian Fathers present this Lenten devotional series to help you prepare to receive graces on Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday.
Readings: Is 43:16-21; Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Phil 3:8-14; Jn 8:1-11
Diary: 186-187, 1621, 1665
"So, what do you say?" - Jn 8:5
Jesus is teaching again. He arrives early in the Temple area. We know people wanted to hear more from Him, since they, too, arrive early.
His lesson gets interrupted by the scribes and Pharisees. Feigning respect, they place Jesus as the judge in the case of the adulterous woman. Under Mosaic Law, a woman caught in adultery deserved death. Their plan is to trap Jesus in the middle of two choices: Should we follow Moses' Law or Jesus' teachings on mercy.
"They made her stand in the middle" (Jn 8:3). The woman was surrounded. She was displayed as an example of a sinner. These religious leaders had little concern over the woman's fate. Their goal was to trick Jesus, arrest Him, and disperse His followers.
The leaders know - as do we from earlier readings - that Jesus would teach by comparing "What you have been told" to "But I say to you." Knowing this idiom, the Pharisees ask Him, "So what do you say?"
Jesus says, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (Jn 8:7). Ironic, isn't it? The leaders who displayed the woman as a sinner end up parading away as revealed sinners. Jesus, the only sinless one there, did not pick up a stone. He advises the woman to go and sin no more. What she had done was indeed a great sin. So He gave her what she needed: mercy.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I am a sinner. I bow before You and ask for Your tender mercy.
Missed a day? See previous "From Ashes to Mercy" daily meditations.
Readings: Is 43:16-21; Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6; Phil 3:8-14; Jn 8:1-11
Diary: 186-187, 1621, 1665
"So, what do you say?" - Jn 8:5
Jesus is teaching again. He arrives early in the Temple area. We know people wanted to hear more from Him, since they, too, arrive early.
His lesson gets interrupted by the scribes and Pharisees. Feigning respect, they place Jesus as the judge in the case of the adulterous woman. Under Mosaic Law, a woman caught in adultery deserved death. Their plan is to trap Jesus in the middle of two choices: Should we follow Moses' Law or Jesus' teachings on mercy.
"They made her stand in the middle" (Jn 8:3). The woman was surrounded. She was displayed as an example of a sinner. These religious leaders had little concern over the woman's fate. Their goal was to trick Jesus, arrest Him, and disperse His followers.
The leaders know - as do we from earlier readings - that Jesus would teach by comparing "What you have been told" to "But I say to you." Knowing this idiom, the Pharisees ask Him, "So what do you say?"
Jesus says, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (Jn 8:7). Ironic, isn't it? The leaders who displayed the woman as a sinner end up parading away as revealed sinners. Jesus, the only sinless one there, did not pick up a stone. He advises the woman to go and sin no more. What she had done was indeed a great sin. So He gave her what she needed: mercy.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I am a sinner. I bow before You and ask for Your tender mercy.
Missed a day? See previous "From Ashes to Mercy" daily meditations.
ddburg
