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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2010 /  Who is ready to start throwing stones?

by Fr. Richard C. Macey special to The Michigan Catholic
Published March 12, 2010

First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21
The prophet recalls the deliverance of the people during the Exodus. He tells the people that something even more wondrous will be done by God. The people of Israel are probably in exile in Babylon at this time.

The prophet is bolstering their hope of return to their land. God has not forgotten them or His promise to them. Their past experience teaches the people about the fidelity of God for them in the present.

Just as God provided food and water in the wilderness, despite the murmuring of the people, He continues to provide for those, whom He has chosen as His own. The phrase, "I make a way in the wasteland," is active and ongoing in the Hebrew text.

Second Reading: Philippians 3:8-14
Paul has already confessed that he is suffering "imprisonment" because of the Gospel, which he is preaching (Philippians 1:7). He has endured and "accepted the loss of all things," even his freedom of movement. He calls it "so much rubbish." This is a strong term, which can refer to dung, muck, filth, scraps or refuse. But he does not look behind to see what he has lost. He is drawn forward and freed by the sure hope of "what lies ahead."

"Knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" is not the same as knowing about Jesus Christ. It is a more personal and intimate relationship. It is closer to being in communion with Christ. It is built upon an experience of the Risen Lord in the life of Paul.

The "supreme good" of his life comes from Christ Jesus. Paul acknowledges that he does not have "any righteousness of my own." This is a statement about the initiative of God. Paul does not rely on his own self-reliance. Righteousness and justification are the same word in both Hebrew and Greek. They are a gift from God. Paul can only be open to receive it. It is a state of being able to stand in the presence of God.

Only his "faith in Christ" gives Paul this status. Faith is an act of personal trust and surrender to Christ, not just an intellectual assent to a doctrine.

A clearer statement of his belief is drawn out in other letters, e.g., Romans 4:13 and Galatians 2:16, 3:11.

Paul twice mentions his "pursuit in hope … pursuit toward the goal." He uses the imagery of a sprinter heading toward the goal line. He can see what he will obtain, but he has not yet completed the race. The "goal" is the marker that indicates the direction for the sprinter and the promise of the rewards for surpassing it.

The life experience of an individual is an important context for interpreting the meaning of their words. There was another person, whose simple words had a great affect in my life. She also suffered the threat of impending death.

When I was still in high school, I read "The Diary of Anne Frank." The diary revealed a very ordinary young girl. She had the same concerns and questions, which any young person would have. Her notes invited you into her deepest thoughts and feelings. What made such a difference in weighing her insight was the uncertainty of her destiny and the threat of death.

Many years later, I visited the place where she had stayed with her family and a few others, until her arrest and deportation to a concentration camp, where she died. I imagined what it was like to be confined in that upper flat for so long. One of her final entries, even after those trials and knowing her precarious situation, was an affirmation about the goodness of humankind. By itself, it was not a very eloquent treatise. But her life, which underlay the expression of her words, brought a much deeper appreciation for what she was able to offer to those who made contact with her through her diary.

Gospel: John 8:1-11
The story about the woman, who is caught in adultery and brought before Jesus, is an addition to the Protestant Bible. It is not included in the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John. In fact, some manuscripts include it in various places in the Gospel of John and even in the Gospel of Luke (after 21:38), thus suggesting that it was an authentic story about Jesus, which circulated independently from the fuller gospel narrative.

The Jewish festivals and celebrations were important settings for the actions and sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of John. This story occurs just after the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2,37). The feast recalls the wilderness experience.

Israel depended upon the mercy of God to sustain and nourish them, when they were outside the land of promise. Since the authenticity of this story to be placed here in this narrative is challenged, some exegetes feel that the feast is not important in the storytelling. One of the most eye-catching passages is that Jesus "wrote on the ground." Many commentators have suggested different things that Jesus could have written, such as Jeremiah 17:13, about the faithless, whose names are written in the dust. In this case, the story may allude to Daniel 13:1-64, the story of Susanna, who was charged with adultery to hide the sin of two elders. Others have used it to prove that Jesus had been educated, since He knew how to write. There is no explanation in the text.

Jesus waited to address the woman until the accusers had left. The woman is addressed personally for the first time. It is the only time that she speaks.

Jesus did not approve of her action, nor was the accusation against her denied by her. He forgave her, then told her, "Do not sin any more."

A meeting with Jesus and the mercy of God must lead to different behavior, which reflects that relationship with Him. That is the challenge of our Lenten observance.

Fr. Richard C. Macey is pastor of Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Woodhaven.