Episode Details

Truly, this gospel of today is one of the most moving in the life of Jesus. Are we to condemn the adulteress caught in the act of adultery? Off the cuff, we might say we would. It is so easy to condemn the others, to write them off, to focus on their weaknesses and faults, etc. Are we to be self-righteous in judging them, while we let ourselves off the hook so easily? The enemies of Jesus brought this poor adulteress to His presence: Big sinner in front of Purity Itself! They posed this problem to Him. Are we to stone this woman for having committed the crime of adultery? They only wanted to catch Jesus contradicting Himself or the Mosaic Law. Either way, they sought to discredit Him. He was becoming a solid celebrity among the people. Thus, they were losing credibility. Out of envy, they wanted to bring Him down. But Jesus challenges them and their righteous sensitivities: those without sin are to cast a stone at her. No one satisfied that criterion. They, and any one of us, are sinners. Only Jesus is without sin, right? He was the only one who could cast a stone at her. But He did not! He did not condemn her. He asked her not to sin again. Wow! God's infinite mercy for us to see! Pure mercy!