Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent
The accused woman left standing before our Blessed Lord today is representative of those who are condemned by the self-righteousness of others. It has been suggested that the only sin for which Jesus of Nazareth had little patience is the sin of self-righteousness.
Mother Teresa famously said that if we are busy judging others then we have no time to love them. It is interesting that many of the greatest saints speak of themselves as the greatest sinners. They see the need for God’s mercy because in the end it is the mercy of God that saves us.
Perhaps we know what it is like to have the finger pointed at us. Have you ever been among the accused, the defamed, the excluded? Hearing this story throughout our Christian lives, especially at Lent, being among those who grasp stones in their hands may be the way we imagine ourselves in this often heard tale. But we might also see ourselves in the woman whom the crowd of men wish to bloodily plummet. And the thing is, she most likely was guilty of all charges.
Yet like her, it is the mercy of Jesus alone that rescues us. During Lent, we are reminded that the Lord desires to forgive us even more than we desire to be forgiven. What a God we have! Will we allow the Good and Gracious One to see us as we are and still love us as we are?
Do we allow ourselves to be caught in the Lord’s gaze, to be known and loved just as we are?
—Timothy J. Cronin