April 6, 2025.
“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group………and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8, 3-7)
The tale of the adulteress woman and the effort Christ makes to save her from the claws of the righteous that pursue her, is a good example of what the Lord does every day for each of us. He is the mediator before our Father and, if it weren’t for his intercession, the just punishment of God would fall on us immediately. This week’s “word of life” invites us to consider this compassionate aspect of God and also to imitate him. To do this we must consider ourselves comparable to the sinning woman, therefore needing forgiveness, but at times also the victims of others defects. We are inasmuch victims and guilty at the same time. As victims we can forgive and as the guilty we need forgiveness. It is fitting to remember that phrase of Jesus in which he tells us that we will receive the measure which we ourselves use on others. Receive the pardon of God, then, asking forgiveness and forgiving those who have hurt you.
On the other hand, we must not identify the compassion of God with the sinner with tolerance of the sin. Christ does not tell the adulterer that what she did was good and that she can go off and continue to do it. He avoids that they kill her and he himself forgives her, but he tells her not to continue doing it. The Church has as one of its moral axioms to condemn the sin ands save the sinner. This is how we should act: condemn that which is wrong but try to help he who has done it so that he does not do it again. The same as we would like that was done for us.
Intention: Reject the bad, whoever does it, but not that he does it. He, try to help him. Forgive to be able to be forgiven ourselves.