Sermon on the 5th Sunday in Lent, April 3, 2022 ’t Goy

Dear sisters and brothers, the Church has chosen  readings from Scripture for this time of the year to help us prepare for Easter. “Behold, I am going to start something new. It has already begun, don’t you notice” says God through the prophet Isaiah (First reading) 1). If there is really anything and ever new, it is the resurrection of Jesus. And the apostle Paul rejoices so much at the fulfillment of God’s promise that he exclaims, “I will know Christ, and experience the power of his resurrection. I will do anything for that” (Second reading) 2). Those words also awaken in us the longing for the renewing power of Easter. But how does this Sunday’s Gospel help us prepare for Easter? 3) It is known to many as the story of “the adulteress.” But is that headline correct? In the original tekst of the Bible there are never headings or titles above the stories. It is a custom from the last century to make it easier to look up a specific text in the Bible. But you might as well call this passage the story of those hypocritical men, or of Jesus writing on the floor. Rather, the heading “the aduteress” says something about the patriarchal morality that used to determine thought and conversation, and which is what makes the story so famous. In some cultures women still have to cover their entire body because otherwise they would be a source of temptation. Even if they are victims of abuse, they are blamed. But practice shows otherwise. Recent affairs that have been widely reported in the newsmedia in recent years underline this like Metoo The story itself also confirms that old prejudice. For the men who arrested the woman for breaking the law say, “Master, this woman was caught in the act of committing aldultery”. Pay attention:  they don’t say, “We caught her.” That would mean they had been witnesses. But if they had been witnesses, couldn’t they have prevented the offense? And where has the man in question gone? In fact, they are not at all concerned with restoring the community by righteousness which is the meaning of law and justice. it’s theater what they perform to discredit Jesus by trapping him. For were Jesus to condemn the woman, he would lose the confidence of his followers who hoped that with Jesus mercy among men would prevail. If he didn’t condemn her, he would be known as a master who did not care about principles.
What is happening? Jesus bends down and writes with his indexfinger on the ground. A mysterious gesture. It could portray that Jesus is embarrassed by the behavior of these hard-hearted men. It is also a sign reminiscent of the prophecies that God will remove the heart of stone from His people and replace it with a heart of flesh. And that in the Messianic age he will write his law in their inward parts by his Spirit.
Then Jesus calls for self-knowledge and conversion: “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone” For are we not the first and sometimes only witness of our own sins? This is one of the best known and most heard expressions in the Bible. Usually people think that it means that no one is allowed to judge because everyone has made a mistake of any kind at one time or another. But that would mean that we should never reject or condemn anything bad or wrong that someone else does. But the real point here is that the men didn’t witness the offense themselves. So they are false witnesses. They threaten to convict an innocent person. That is not a right at all, but the greatest imaginable injustice. That will happen to Jesus himself not much later. True justice means we must always be prepared to recognize the other first as a fellow human being and to take them back into the community. If we all look to ourselves and remember our sins, we will want to be treated that way ourselves. May God give us a new beginning. A completely clean slate.
That is why we are told this Gospel story and that is why the Church tells us this story as we prepare for Easter. Because at Easter we celebrate that God makes a new beginning with us through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. God grants us the forgiveness of sins and raises us up as new people when we have genuine regrets.
The scribes finally descend one by one. They are ashamed of their behavior. Two people remain. Jesus and the woman. Jesus has nothing to be ashamed of. He has silenced his opponents. The woman didn’t sneak out quietly  either. She stands upright. Does that mean she was indeed a victim of prejudice or even abuse? In any case she feels completely accepted by the love of Jesus who is the embodiment of God’s love: ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go and never sin from now on.” This is the farewell that Jesus grants people who he has healed like the leper and the lame
When we, sisters and brothers, hear the Gospel of Jesus and are touched by it, that is already forgiveness of sins. Jesus raises us up and gives a new and never ending start. Do you know that the priest or deacon who reads the Gospel during Mass always quietly says to himself at the end: May many sins be forgiven by the reading of the Gospel? That is every time a miracle, a new beginning, a true resurrection. Amen.

(c) Martin Los, pr
lessons for the Mass of the 5th Sunday in Lent C-Cyclus
1) Isaiah 43:16-21
2) St. Paul, letter to the Philippians 3:8-14
3) Joh 8:1-8
Picture: Christ and the adulteress by Titian Commons.wikimedia