Bible Study, Prayer, and Homily Resources
by Fr. Tommy Lane
When we hear a parable, we
can compare ourselves with the characters in the parable to see
where we stand. For example, when hearing last Sunday’s parable
about the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), we may be able to see some
of the younger son and some of the elder son in ourselves. In the
parable of the fig tree the previous Sunday (Luke 13:1-9), we are
the fig tree that has been given more time to produce fruit for the
kingdom. I think we could also compare ourselves with the characters
in today’s Gospel passage.
The woman must have known
that the entire thing was a setup and a trap and that she was used
not only by the man involved to set a trap, but by all the
bystanders around her asking for her stoning. Now that poor woman
had to pick up the pieces afterwards knowing that she had been used
by the whole lot of them. But Jesus helped her up. He made it clear
that they could not throw physical stones at her, nor any other type
of stone either. All the bystanders also had their own issues and
none of them was in a position to look down on her. So, as Jesus
said to her, “Neither do I condemn you,” she could go forward from
that day and not look down on herself because Jesus did not look
down on her and did not allow the squad of men who trapped her to
look down on her. It would not be right if she retreated into
herself after this day; she should live a full and honorable life
from that day forward. We receive Jesus’ mercy again and again. Just
as Jesus did not condemn the woman but set her free to live a new
life, Jesus expects us to live a new life with his grace after
receiving forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The bystanders displayed a
condemnatory attitude towards the woman. It is easy to condemn
others. The Pharisees and scribes in the Gospel were right that sin
is sin, but they were wrong to condemn her as they did. What the
woman needed was encouragement to move on and instead she found only
condemnation from them. The Pharisees were playing God. Jesus said
on other occasions not to judge; we can and should say sin is sin,
but we leave judgment to God. The scribes and Pharisees did not show
any respect to the woman. Instead of condemning, the attitude to
display towards others is respect. We can ask ourselves about our
attitude towards others. If we are condemning others, even in our
mind, the Gospel today challenges us to a change of attitude so that
we respect others. They, like us, are sons and daughters of God.
Comparing ourselves with
the Gospel and its characters brings us to our reaction to the
Gospel and how or if we allow it to interact with ourselves and feed
our thoughts. We could close our minds and not allow the Gospel to
impinge on our lives because we don’t like it or some part of it or
we could be generous in opening ourselves to ponder what God may be
saying to us through this Gospel. There are examples in history of
those who closed themselves to part of the Gospel or part of the
Bible. One in the early Church was Marcion who would not accept the
full Bible and wanted only the part of the Bible that suited him.
So, he made up his own Bible, accepting only the Gospel of Luke and
ten of Paul’s letters. He wanted God to be the way he wanted. Martin
Luther was not a huge fan of the letter of James. He said it was a
strawy epistle. While he accepted it as part of the New Testament,
he rated its value as low since it was not helpful to support Martin
Luther in his controversy at that time.
There are many other
examples, but these are enough to help us ponder if we do anything
similar with any part of God’s word in our time. I am thinking in
particular of Jesus’ words to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” (John 8:11) Everyone wants
to hear and preach “Neither do I condemn you” but there is not a
huge queue to hear “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” Of
course, all are welcome, but we prefer not to finish the sentence.
Just like Marcion and Luther, we can, when it suits us, engage in
selective reading—reading only the part that suits us. It is much
easier to say, “God loves you as you are” instead of saying “God
loves you as you are and calls you to grow in love and charity.” We
could engage in selective reading and make a Jesus that suits us,
but the real Jesus is all of his words and not just his words that
we like. The prodigal son went home because he came to his senses
when the money ran out but there seems to be an endless supply of
money now making it difficult for people to reflect like the
prodigal son and difficult to want to return home to our heavenly
Father. It is easy to hear, “Neither do I condemn you” but like the
prodigal son enjoying riches before they ran out, it is not easy now
to hear the second part, “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
As we compare ourselves
with the Gospel and its characters, we need to listen to all of
Jesus’ words, not only the ones we like, so that we do not make a
Jesus that suits us but allow the real Jesus to speak to us through
the Gospel. “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not
sin anymore.”
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2025
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C
Begin again! 2022
Do not throw stones at others 2013
Transformation during Lent 2010
Related Homilies: Homilies on God’s mercy and the Sacrament of Reconciliation