“His Greatest Gift”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
April 6 – 7, 2019
Scripture: John 8: 1-11
1) While Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2) But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3) Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. 4) They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5) Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.* So what do you say?” 6) They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. 7) But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8) Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9) And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. 10) Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11) She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin anymore.”
Today is the First Sunday of the Passion. You may be wondering why the crucifix, statues and pictures of the Holy Family in the sanctuary have been covered. This is an ancient custom which stems from when the Lord went to Jerusalem and hid from the Pharisees. The coverings will be removed on Holy Saturday.
Of all the virtues, the primary one is justice, because without it, there can be no mercy. Experiencing God’s mercy is the greatest of His gifts. But, we must first admit that we have sinned to receive that gift. We must plead guilty. We must open our hearts and ask for God’s mercy. At the Sacrament of Confession, God forgives and forgets…He is merciful.
The Pharisees and elders committed the sin of scandal. They brought the woman who had committed adultery to Jesus. The Pharisees knew the law, but did not understand its purpose. They wanted vengeance…not justice. They needed to be reminded of God’s mercy. When Jesus bent down to write on the ground, He probably wrote the sins of the Pharisees and elders. This is the only time in scripture that Jesus wrote anything. After they left, the Lord told the woman to take up her cross and to follow Him. No matter how bad you think you are, God is always merciful. But, I have a question….it takes two people to commit adultery, so why didn’t the Pharisees bring the adulterous man to Jesus too?
Those who love God want to grow closer to Him. The closer you draw to God, the more you realize how sinful you are. All sin, both mortal and venial, hurts us because it moves us away from God. The difference between committing a mortal sin and a venial sin is whether you punch your wife or slap her. Both are bad. When you go to the emergency room, the medical staff is going to ask you what is wrong. If you aren’t sick, you don’t need a doctor and you don’t need to be at the hospital. It’s the same with church. If you think that you haven’t done anything that bad…then you don’t need to be here. And, if you are thinking that what you did wasn’t that bad, after all, you only missed one Mass, let me know how it feels when you miss just one heartbeat. Babies are the only ones here who are without sin.
The Church is holy because of what it contains…the Sacraments and the Deposit of Faith. One of my prison felons told me that he never left Christ…just the Church. But, this goes against scripture. Have you ever read the Book of Acts? Saul was trying to destroy the Church by imprisoning Christians. When Christ asked Saul why he was persecuting Him, Saul fell to his knees and was blind for three days. The Holy Church has been entrusted with teaching scripture to the faithful and helping them understand it. People complain that they don’t understand what is being said when the Mass is done in Latin. Hey, guess what…the priest is not talking to you!! The Church wants everyone to be saved…to have eternal life. Even when someone commits a grievous sin, they do not receive a severe punishment from the Church…it’s more of a slap on the back of the head. There are medicinal remedies…if you continue in your ways, you will die. There are also spiritual remedies including suspension from the church (for clerics); excommunication – the most severe punishment because you are cut off from the sacraments; and Interdiction – a temporary penalty, but you cannot receive sacraments until after reconciliation.
You don’t need to know everything in the Catechism to lead others to Him. Just tell them your story. When you evangelize, tell people what God has done for you…that He is merciful and has forgiven you. But, before you can tell anyone else about His mercy, you have to experience it first. Come experience God’s mercy before Easter and then go out and lead others to Him.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you accept His gift of mercy by going to confession?