Fifth Sunday of Lent: I Am Doing Something New!

The readings for this Fifth Sunday of Lent invite us to hope in God for the future by reminding us of the many wonderful things that God has accomplished in the past.  The reading from Isiah (Is. 43:16-21) and the responsorial psalm (Ps 126) recall the two greatest events in the history of the Chosen People: how God freed the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and how he brought them from their exile in Babylon.  These two pivotal saving events which shaped the identity of Israel are just two examples of God’s loving action towards his people.  We are encouraged to look forward to even greater things God is able to accomplish now and will accomplish in the future.  God speaks through Isaiah saying:  “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”  God always does new things!

Jesus makes this “new thing” a reality in the life of the nameless woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). The woman is in danger of being killed because while being married or promised to a man, she had an intercourse with another.  The lovers got caught in the act so there is no question as to the facts. Neither there is a question as to the prescribed penalty: death (Deuteronomy 22:23-240 by stoning (Ezekiel 23:43-47). 

Nevertheless, the apparent religious zeal of the Pharisees and Scribes is just a cover for their sinister plans. For them, the woman is a collateral damage (What happened to the man?); the real purpose of bringing her to Jesus is to test him.  The same word “test” is used to describe the devil’s temptations in the desert.  In a way, the religious purists utilize not just the woman but the very law they claim to love to gain advantage over Jesus.  They know what the law prescribes, yet they ask his opinion.  If he opines to let her go, they will accuse him of breaking the law. If he tells them to stone her, the common people will turn away from him as no longer being “a friend of sinners.” He might even get in trouble with the Romans as it is their and only their prerogative to impose capital punishment!  Fortunately, the religious leaders’ evil scheme does not work! 

The response Jesus gives stuns them: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Speechless and shamed, they walk away one by one.  What they mean for evil, Jesus turns into good.  He turns to the woman and completes the act of mercy and restoration not by denying her sin but rather by freeing her from it.  He says, “Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.” A new life begins.  We do not know what happened after Jesus saved her life and soul.  We hope she took that moment of grace and challenged herself to start fresh.  Based on the other life-changing encounters between Jesus and sinners, we can presume she took that opportunity and allowed God to recreate her, to do something new with her life.

God gives us similar opportunities all the time through Christ.  When we are touched by the living Christ, we have a chance to become a new creation.  We no longer need or even want to dwell on the sinful past or the past spent on insignificant and meaningless pursuits.  We are compelled to start anew and change the direction of our lives. St. Paul describes it this way:  “forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:8-14). In other words, we choose to live a different life and want to make different choices because “the Lord has done great things for us” and “we are filled with joy”   (Ps. 126).