Tag: Deacon

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The Woman Caught in Adultery

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Fifth Sunday of Lent Readings
First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm: Psalm 126: 1-6
Second Reading: Philippians 3:8-14
Gospel: John 8:1-11

In today’s gospel we hear that familiar story about the woman caught in adultery. They bring her to Jesus while he is in the temple and they demand to know what he thinks should be done with her. Like we briefly discussed last week, today’s Gospel presents a couple of the big kahuna of sins, like adultery. In the language of the Church, we call these mortal sins. Brief side note, why are they called mortal sins? They are mortal sins because they can destroy our relationship with the Lord and His community, like adultery, a mortal sin can shatter a family.

In 1 John 5:16-17, for example, we learn the distinction between sins. John says all sin is bad, but there are some sins that are deadly. Smaller sins or what we Catholics call venial sins wound our relationship with the Lord. Mortal sins ruin or can kill our relationship with God and with His community. To be a mortal sin, the sin must be a grave matter, aka a big kahuna sin. Second, I have to know that it’s a serious sin. Sin is not an accident. Finally, I need to freely chose to do it even though I know it’s a sin. Those are the three characteristics of mortal sins. I have a few links at the bottom of notes that give more information about sins including the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a couple of excellent YouTube videos.

Ok, back to our Gospel today. As usual, there are so many things going on – there is so much texture in this reading alone, not to mention the other two readings and the psalm, that it’s difficult to know where to begin and how much to discuss. So, think about today’s Gospel, let’s start with this: it’s a trap!

The scribes and Pharisees tried to trap Jesus. On one hand, if he in any way refutes the Law, then they could accuse him in front of the Jews as lacking authenticity. How can he be a prophet let alone the Messiah if rejects the Law of Moses – to Law of God? On the other hand, if he affirms the Law and says that indeed, she should be stoned to death, then they can hand him over to the Romans and accuse him of trying to undermine Roman authority by advocating vigilante law. You see, it was against Roman law to kill another person.

Jesus doesn’t buy it.

Instead, he squats down and begins to write in the dirt. Wouldn’t you like to have been a fly on the wall to see what he was doing? Was he just doodling? Or was he writing something? Or was he drawing images that correspond to sins? We don’t know. But instead of falling into the trap, he brilliantly says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” According to the Gospel, what happens next is that one by one, the crowd starts to dissolve. Then later, he asks her, “‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She replied, ‘No one, sir.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.’”

Now, does this mean that adultery isn’t that big a deal? No, I don’t think that’s what Jesus is saying at all. I think what he is trying to illustrate is that there is another mortal sin going on – the sin of pride. Now pride is said to be the first and most deadly of all sin. Why? Pride as a sin is the irrational belief that you are better than, superior to and more important than others. C.S. Lewis tells us that, “…it was through pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice…” (Mere Christianity, 121). So, perhaps Jesus is teaching us we can’t sin to expose sin. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

But Jesus doesn’t let the woman off the hook. First, he demonstrates God’s mercy by saying he doesn’t condemn her. If she is repentant, then she will be spared. But, he tells her to sin no more. Now this is what repentance is all about. The goal is not just to admit to ourselves, to our family and friends, and to God that we sinned. We need to try not to repeat the same sin.

That’s the point of the Catholic understanding of reconciliation. First, we go to confession to say our sins. Why? Because there is something powerful about admitting out loud that we did something wrong. We take ownership of what we did wrong. Second, we make amends, which is to say we try to make it up to God, our families and our friends. Third, and this is key, we commit to try not to repeat the same sin.

The great lure of sin is that it traps us in a never-ending cycle of sin. How many of find that we keep repeating the same sins over and over and over again? So, the goal of reconciliation is to try to commit to sin no more. Lent is wonderful time to come to terms with the things we’ve done wrong in our lives that have damaged our relationship with God, or family and our friends. In the Catholic tradition, this is an excellent time to experience the Sacrament of Reconciliation and experience the grace of God’s mercy and forgiveness.

Homework! Reflecting on the Gospel today, I encourage you to consider the following two questions in this week as we make our way to Palm Sunday:

  1. Have you ever experienced the feeling that were so right and someone else was so wrong that it didn’t matter to you what you did to prove it? What does today’s Gospel tell us about that?
  2. When was the last time you experienced the healing grace of God’s mercy and forgiveness? Maybe it’s time to go to Reconciliation.

I hope that doing our homework this week will help us take the focus off ourselves and open us to God’s mercy and love. May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

Resources:
• Catechism of the Catholic Church 1846-1876 on sin
• Bishop Robert Barron: “Seven Deadly Sins; Seven Lively Virtues”
• Fr. Mike Schmitz: “Mortal vs. Venial Sin”

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Fourth Sunday of Lent: The Prodigal Son

picture of a boy, back to us, with a backpack slung over his shoulder walking down a deserted street

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Readings
First Reading: Joshua 5:9A, 10-12
Psalm: Psalm 34: 2-7
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

In today’s Gospel, Luke 15:1-3 and verses 11-32, we hear that all-familiar story about the Prodigal Son. In this story, the younger son wants his share of the estate now, so he asks his father to give it to him. His father agrees and the son leaves for another country and lives an indulgent life. He’s the life of the party – until the money runs out. Of course, when it rains, it pours, so the money doesn’t just run out. No! A famine strikes. Now this poor boy has no money and no food and so he goes to work on a farm. He realizes that even the pigs live better than him, so he decides to go home. His father’s servants are treated better than this, so he hopes to live and work on this father’s place. But when his father sees him in the distance, what does he do? He runs into the field and gives him a deep bearhug! And he orders the servants to take care of son and prepare a huge party in his honor.

Now, when the older brother hears what is going on, he is ticked off! Here he’s been, the whole time, doing what he’s supposed to, working his butt off and never once has his father let him have a party! But his brother squanders his share of the wealth and he’s treated like a hero. And the father says, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
This is one of my favorite stories. That image of the father running into the field to meet his son who has returned home is a powerful image. Really, it’s a wonderful story that reminds us, as Bishop Robert Barron says, that the Bible is not the story of our quest for God. It’s about God’s passionate, relentless quest for us.

But there’s another dimension to this story though that I learned from Fr. Laurence Freeman, a Benedictine monk, that I think we need to pay attention to. Why is it that we become so angry when we see someone do something they shouldn’t do? Maybe it’s because we see a little bit of ourselves – or at least the something we might have done – in the person who did something wrong.

This story about these two brothers and the father is about us. It’s about both sides of our ego. One side wants to run after pleasure – think the mid-life crisis complete with new model car and partner. The other side takes the moral high ground and feels justified in condemnation.

Isn’t it also interesting how both brothers misunderstand the father’s reaction? The younger son expects his father to be angry and indignant and he’s hoping that he’ll be allowed to work as one of the slaves. The older brother is shocked that his father is so happy and welcoming.

In the symbolism of the father’s joy, a lack of self-importance, and the exuberance of his love we see our true self – our true nature which underpins all moral reasoning. Without knowledge of the essential truth of the unconditional nature of love, the ego will prevail. So how do we keep both sides of our ego in check? We pray. We experience the community of His church. Each time we pray, we are like the prodigal returning home to be embraced.

So, don’t condemn the wrongdoer once he or she has begun to change. We need to encourage rehabilitation by affirmation, forgiveness, and acceptance. Just as the father in the Gospel celebrates the return, we need to celebrate when those who do wrong in our lives come back. We need to do unto others as we would have them do us. Jesus tells us that just as he loves us, we need to love one another.

Homework! Lent is a time of simplification and strengthening our discipline where it is weak. After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and, in the Eucharist, please meditate on these two questions:

  1. Consider each of the three characters in the Gospel: the father, the Prodigal Son and the indignant son. Which one would you rather be?
  2. Considering how you answered the first question, how do you treat other people? Do you respond more like the Prodigal Son, the indignant son or the father?

I think by doing our homework we might identify areas in our life where we need to grow in faith, hope and love. Do you got it? Are you going to do it? Well good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

Here’s a great video song from Jason Michael Carroll that captures the spirit of today’s Gospel:

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Third Sunday of Lent

picture of a fruitless fig tree, the landlord and the laborer

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Readings
First Reading: Exodus 3:1-8A, 13-15
Psalm: Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 11
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9

Hello! Just a special note about the readings today and for the next two Sundays. For people preparing to enter the Church at the Easter Vigil, parishes have the option of selecting readings from the A Cycle. Today, I’m going to reflect on Gospel for the readings from the C Cycle, Luke 13:1-9, the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree.

The central theme of all the readings today, speak to us about God’s mercy and compassion. In today’s Gospel, for example, we hear about an owner who asks his gardener to cut down a tree that will not bear fruit. But the gardener asks for one more year to see if he can cultivate. This represents God’s mercy.

Now I think it’s easy enough to look at that particular reading and to say to yourself, clearly, we’re talking about non-believers. But I think there’s another message here. There are many people who claim to have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they come to church all the time, but like our fig tree, their lives bear no fruit. What fruit? Well, St. Paul gives us some examples in his letter to the Galatians – the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fruits manifest in the way we live our lives. For example, doing good works – helping those who need help – is an example of how our fruits manifest.

In other words, is there any real conversion? Are they loving, or mean to those around them? Do they try to get along, or are they intolerant? Are they nice, or are they short-tempered or a bully?

Accepting Jesus Christ is more than just saying words. It has to mean real, authentic conversion. This time of Lent is a great opportunity to reflect on our faith life. Some people ask, why Lent? Lent isn’t in the Bible, so Lent is not necessary. Well, is biblically based, but you see, the Church in her wisdom knows that life is too busy and most of us don’t take the time to stop and reflect on the important things in our life – our families, our purpose, and our relationship with Jesus Christ. So Lent, and Advent for that matter, are times set aside to encourage us to slow down and think about this life that we’re blessed with – to think about our purpose. Is my life bearing fruit?

So, what prevents our life from bearing fruit? Sin. And I’m not talking about little sins. I’m talking about the big ones, like adultery and habitual sins like abusing drugs, alcohol or indulging in sins that exploit people like greed and pornography. This is a good time to ask ourselves if we burdened by sins like these and repent. Repentance doesn’t mean just asking for forgiveness. I can’t just sit on my back porch with a cup of coffee, watch the sunrise and say, “Jesus, forgive me!” I can’t just walk into a confessional without changing anything in my life. Repentance means more than that. Yes, we need to ask forgiveness, but it also means making amends to anyone we’ve hurt because of our sins and committing ourselves, with the grace of God, to not repeat these sins – to change our lives.

And that leads us to our homework today. Homework! Nourished by Jesus in the Word proclaimed in the Eucharist, ask yourself:

  1. What needs changing in my life right now?
  2. What steps am I taking this Lent to make sure that my faith bears fruit, perhaps through good works?

Got it? Are you going to do? Good! May each of us come to know the grace and peace of Jesus Christ. And may Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!