Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more…

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, the liturgy of the day highlights God’s kind heartedness towards all of us and gives ample examples of compassion, especially towards those who are vulnerable and those who cannot help themselves. All the readings of the day speak of God’s abounding mercy and compassion and invite each one of us to walk in the footsteps of God. The first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, highlights how God will forget the shortcomings of the people of Israel, never to remember again. St Paul, in today’s second reading, says, “All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come.” And the Gospel reading gives a very good example of Jesus being compassionate towards this woman caught in the act of adultery.

The words of Jesus to the woman caught in the act of adultery, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more,” summarise the need to be compassionate. It doesn’t mean that what she did was accepted by Jesus; on the contrary, he showed her compassion, because, each one of us, in one way or the other has sinned and is in need of compassion. When Jesus asks her accusers to throw a stone, if only, he/she has no sin, makes them realise that they too are guilty of some sin and makes them retreat from the scene, leaving behind Jesus and the accused woman.
It is very interesting to see how the scribes and Pharisees had planned to trap Jesus, by using this woman’s vulnerability, so they could accuse Jesus of breaking the law. Their question to Jesus had a weight of law in it, as they said, “Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?” If Jesus had agreed with them to follow the letter of the Law, then his integrity, as a gentle, loving person, who cares for the neglected, would have been lost. On the other hand, if he had asked to release the woman, the scribes and the Pharisees would have easily accused him of not following the Law, making Jesus vulnerable in front of the religious authority. Jesus takes very careful steps and asks the accusers to cast the stone if he/she has not committed any sin. In a way Jesus hits two birds with one stone (!) Through this act of Jesus, we, his followers, are asked to be prudent when we ourselves are trapped into the tricky situations.

As a whole, today’s liturgy puts a great emphasis on compassion towards the other. We are invited to be compassionate to all the people around us, no matter what state of life each one of them are. We all know that we are vulnerable and sinful in one way or the other. We know our shortcomings, we know our weaknesses and we know our failures. So let us not go around judging people, rather be compassionate as Jesus was compassionate to the person who was in need of mercy. It does not, in any way, mean that sinning is permitted. It does not mean that we can do whatever we want and we are forgiven. It does not mean that we can harm anyone and get away with it; No. Being compassionate is accepting the shortcomings of the other; recognising our own vulnerability; accepting the other as he/she is and above all reaching out when someone is accused.

Let us then pray that may God, our compassionate Father/Mother, help us to be compassionate to our fellow human being so that we will be able to live a worthy life of accepting our own shortcomings and the shortcomings of the other. Amen.