Fifth Sunday of Lent
Year C Readings
Lectionary: 36
Reading I
Thus says the LORD,
who opens a
way in the sea
and a path
in the mighty waters,
who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful
army,
till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out
and quenched like a wick.
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?
In the desert I make a way,
in the
wasteland, rivers.
Wild beasts honor me,
jackals and
ostriches,
for I put water in the desert
and rivers
in the wasteland
for my
chosen people to drink,
the people whom I formed for myself,
that they
might announce my praise.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (3) The Lord has done great things for us;
we are filled with joy.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like
men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our
tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD
has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad
indeed.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the
torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap
rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the
seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying
their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
Reading II
Brothers and sisters:
I consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things
and I consider them so much rubbish,
that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having any righteousness of my own based on the law
but that which comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God,
depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection
and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death,
if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
It is not that I have already taken hold of it
or have already attained perfect maturity,
but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it,
since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, I for my part
do not consider myself to have taken possession.
Just one thing: 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.
Verse before the Gospel
Even now, says the Lord,
return to me with your whole heart;
for I am gracious and merciful.
Gospel
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area,
and all the people started coming to him,
and he sat down and taught them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman
who had been caught in adultery
and made her stand in the middle.
They said to him,
“Teacher, this woman was caught
in the very act of committing adultery.
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women.
So what do you say?”
They said this to test him,
so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him,
he straightened up and said to them,
“Let the one among you who is without sin
be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground.
And in response, they went away one by one,
beginning with the elders.
So he was left alone with the woman before him.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her,
“Woman, where are they?
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 any more.”
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Our job is not to condemn or cast judgement on anyone. Jesus Christ wants us to be healers for ourselves and for all of those people we interact with. God’s greatness cannot be disputed and through the Revelation of Jesus Christ an opportunity for redemption is offered for all His creation. No one is beyond salvation. No one is beyond saving. God loves us all and it is through the realization of His love that all creation can become benefactors of that love. Our deepest, darkest secrets and the sins that we are most ashamed of can serve as a starting point on a journey towards being transformed into better versions of ourselves through Jesus Christ. What once burden us and made us feel beyond forgiveness can serve as a foundation in which to build something better.
God, through the prophet Isaiah, reminds us of His greatness and He is sending forth something so great and so glorious that nothing can stand against it. He is referring to Jesus Christ in who all things in the past will be defined by His arrival and everything will be changed as a result. Through Christ’s death and resurrection even death has been conquered. We become sharers in this victory and are offered hope for all of eternity. This is no small thing and should be considered the mitigating factor in all our thoughts and actions. Whatever this world offers are nothing in comparison to what Jesus offers: joy in this life and eternal life when we finally are joined with Him forever.
Creation without Jesus is broken and hopeless. For every good thing that can be pointed to, there are many other things that bring about fears, anxieties, and resentments. The status of this world reflects the status of the human condition. This condition cannot be made better without the intercession of Jesus Christ. We were broken through our independent acts and decisions which did not include Jesus. When we sin, it is an act of defiance against God. We are the ones tormenting Him on His way to Golgotha. This is something important to realize and be reflected on during the Season of Lent. Jesus wants us to act and make decisions with His advice and counsel, keeping Him as the central aspect of our lives. Through that simple adjustment, a floodgate can be opened, and His Divine Mercy can be poured forth upon us.
Friday night we heard testimony in our own community to that fact. So many of our brothers have been healed through embracing that which Jesus offers. The simple act of accepting Jesus Christ as our God and savior brings about such tremendous results. Our brothers who have taken that message back out into society have flourished in The Light of Christ. The simple words of Jesus run deep: “
“Has no one condemned you?”
“Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
We will always sin. It is unavoidable. The difference is that, with Jesus, the sin becomes all the more abhorrent and we retract from it in horror, seeking to be healed from His presence. Jesus is that healer where He can make all things new, including us. The transformational experience does not happen once, but is a continuing process that keeps guiding us in the right direction. As long as that direction always includes Jesus Christ, then we will be okay.
Deacon Tom
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