Fifth Sunday of Lent

In today's Gospel, we hear of the pharisees and the rest of the Jews condemn the woman caught in adultery. They brought her before the presence of Jesus and they pressed the charges against her, quoting their Mosaic Law of stoning such women to death. If we think about it, the Jews were right after all. It is very apparent that this woman violated the commandment and committed adultery. True enough, in their context, she deserved to die. She must be damned for her wrongdoing.

But surprise of all surprises, Jesus did not condemn her. Jesus gave her a chance, the chance to start anew. Once again we have a glimpse of what kind of a God we have -- a God who surpasses all norms of compassion, a God of new beginnings, a God of new Life.

Let us beg the Lord then that as we deepen our Lenten discipline, we may be given the grace received by the unnamed adulterous woman -- the grace of new beginning. That we may truly shun sin and evil from our beings and live in the new life given us by Jesus. And having been given the grace to start anew, we may extend Jesus' compassion to others, giving them the chance to likewise start anew. Amen.