Christ's forgiveness
Christ's forgiveness of an adulteress is our model of mercy
THE JEWS were celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles or Tents, in the Holy City. That meant that a large number of people from all over the world were there, living in booths and tents in memory of the time their ancestors wandered homeless with Moses in the desert. It would naturally be a time of great public excitement and an occasion in which some immorality might occur.
Early on the last morning of the feast some of the Jews brought a woman taken in adultery and led her to the spot in the Temple where Jesus was teaching. They were so anxious to make her sin public that they rudely broke into His instruction. It is certain that they were not there only because of zeal for the Law or morality.
When they pressed Jesus for a decision, how kindly and thoughtfully He acted! He did not name their sins in order to confound them; He allowed them to confound themselves by suggesting that the one among them without sin cast the first stone. They began to depart after that until, as Saint Augustine says, only the two remained—misery and mercy, the woman and Christ. The tender way in which Christ then dismisses her shows us that charity and grace are stronger than punishments in preventing wrong-doing and that there is no sin He will not pardon for the repentant sinner.
But we are not always so forgiving. With our tempers we may have stoned a fellow worker or neighbor for his or her sins.
"Let him who is without sin among you be the first
to cast a stone at her." John 8:7
in the Imitation of Christ we read: "In judging others, a man labors in vain, often errs, and easily sins; but in judging and looking into himself, he always labors with fruit" (1, 14). In Holy Scripture God warns us of the danger of judging others.
"Do not judge, that you may not be judged. For with whatjudgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatmeasure you measure, it shall be measured to you. But why dostthou see the speck in thy brother's eye, and yet dost not consider the beam in thy own eye? Or how canst thou say to thybrother, 'Let me cast out the speck from thy eye'; and behold,there is a beam in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast outthe beam from thy own eye, and then thou wilt see clearly tocast out the speck from thy brother's eye." Matt. 7:1-5
"Wherefore, thou art inexcusable, O man, whoever thouart who judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou dostcondemn thyself. For thou who judgest dost the same thingsthyself. And we know that the judgment of God is accordingto truth against those who do such things. But dost thou think,O man who judgest those who do such things and dost the samethyself, that thou wilt escape the judgment of God? Or dostthou despise the riches of His goodness and patience and long-suffering? Dost thou not know that the goodness of God ismeant to lead thee to repentance?" Rom. 2:1-4
"Therefore, pass no judgment before the time, until theLord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden indarkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts; and theneveryone will have his praise from God." 1 Cor. 4:5
THE JEWS were celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles or Tents, in the Holy City. That meant that a large number of people from all over the world were there, living in booths and tents in memory of the time their ancestors wandered homeless with Moses in the desert. It would naturally be a time of great public excitement and an occasion in which some immorality might occur.
Early on the last morning of the feast some of the Jews brought a woman taken in adultery and led her to the spot in the Temple where Jesus was teaching. They were so anxious to make her sin public that they rudely broke into His instruction. It is certain that they were not there only because of zeal for the Law or morality.
When they pressed Jesus for a decision, how kindly and thoughtfully He acted! He did not name their sins in order to confound them; He allowed them to confound themselves by suggesting that the one among them without sin cast the first stone. They began to depart after that until, as Saint Augustine says, only the two remained—misery and mercy, the woman and Christ. The tender way in which Christ then dismisses her shows us that charity and grace are stronger than punishments in preventing wrong-doing and that there is no sin He will not pardon for the repentant sinner.
But we are not always so forgiving. With our tempers we may have stoned a fellow worker or neighbor for his or her sins.
"Let him who is without sin among you be the first
to cast a stone at her." John 8:7
in the Imitation of Christ we read: "In judging others, a man labors in vain, often errs, and easily sins; but in judging and looking into himself, he always labors with fruit" (1, 14). In Holy Scripture God warns us of the danger of judging others.
"Do not judge, that you may not be judged. For with whatjudgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatmeasure you measure, it shall be measured to you. But why dostthou see the speck in thy brother's eye, and yet dost not consider the beam in thy own eye? Or how canst thou say to thybrother, 'Let me cast out the speck from thy eye'; and behold,there is a beam in thy own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast outthe beam from thy own eye, and then thou wilt see clearly tocast out the speck from thy brother's eye." Matt. 7:1-5
"Wherefore, thou art inexcusable, O man, whoever thouart who judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou dostcondemn thyself. For thou who judgest dost the same thingsthyself. And we know that the judgment of God is accordingto truth against those who do such things. But dost thou think,O man who judgest those who do such things and dost the samethyself, that thou wilt escape the judgment of God? Or dostthou despise the riches of His goodness and patience and long-suffering? Dost thou not know that the goodness of God ismeant to lead thee to repentance?" Rom. 2:1-4
"Therefore, pass no judgment before the time, until theLord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden indarkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts; and theneveryone will have his praise from God." 1 Cor. 4:5
posted by Big Heavy | 6:16 PM
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