Monday of Week 5 of Lent (Years A and B) – Gospel

Commentary on John 8:1-11

There are some doubts as to whether this story about a woman accused of adultery really belongs to John’s Gospel. Some would say the style is more reminiscent of Luke, and one can easily imagine it fitting into his Gospel.

The scene takes place on the Mount of Olives, just outside the walls of Jerusalem. It is the only mention of this area in the Gospels apart from the accounts of the agony in the garden. Yet, it is likely that Jesus and his disciples would have gone there from time to time.

There is no question, at any stage in the story, that the woman was guilty as charged. Of course, we might like to ask what happened to the man. It takes two to commit adultery (unless it is in the secrecy of the mind). And which of them was the married partner? Both of them? Or was it only the man?

But in a society which was very concerned about legitimacy and the continuation of the family line, the burden of integrity was on the wife. “Extramarital” affairs of the husband were taken far less seriously. In the thinking of this time, children arising out of such a liaison were the woman’s problem, and did not affect the ‘purity’ of the family line.

What is also highly distasteful in this scene is that the woman is dragged in by the scribes and Pharisees as a pawn in a game they are playing with Jesus. It is an example of the many such ‘plants’ that the religious leaders brought in front of Jesus in the Gospel stories.

The Pharisees challenge him saying:

Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?

It is a little like the question about paying taxes to Caesar. Whatever Jesus is likely to say, he will convict himself out of his own mouth.

In fact, the Law specified death, but not the manner of execution for adulterers. However Deuteronomy prescribes stoning for a betrothed virgin caught in adultery (recognize that if it were not for Joseph, this could have been the fate of Mary when she was found with child). It was also the prerogative of witnesses to the adultery to throw the first stones (see Deut 17:7)—hence, Jesus’ invitation to his accusers.

If Jesus says she should be forgiven, then he is in violation of the Law—if he says she should be punished, then he contradicts his own teaching about mercy and compassion for the sinner. Jesus cleverly throws the ball back in their court:

Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.

In a strange expression of humility, they do not reply. They are reduced to silence and one by one, beginning with the eldest, they leave.

Eventually Jesus and the woman are left alone, and note that Jesus has no embarrassment in being alone in the presence of a convicted adulterer (“the sick are those who need a physician”):

Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”

Does this mean that Jesus condones adultery? Not at all. But he sees in the woman the seeds of repentance and the potential for conversion. Jesus looks always at the present and the future—never at the past.

Looking at this story, we can first look forward with confidence to the same compassion from Jesus for our sinfulness. But we also need to have the honesty of the Pharisees, who did not dare punish the woman because they acknowledged that they too were sinners.

How often have we unhesitatingly sat in judgment on someone for wrongs they have done, with never a thought of our own culpability—picking specks out of others’ eyes, while there are planks in our own?

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Monday of Week 5 of Lent – First Reading

Commentary on Daniel 13:1-9,15-17,19-30,33-62 or Daniel 13:41-62

The last two chapters of the Book of Daniel are not part of the Jewish canon of Scripture. The short stories in these two chapters may have originally been about some other Daniel or Daniels, different from the hero of the main part of the book. The texts exist now only in Greek, but probably were originally composed in Hebrew or Aramaic. They do not appear in non-Catholic bibles, but the Catholic Church has always included them among the inspired writings.

The chapters contain two famous stories, one of Susanna, who was falsely accused of adultery, and the other of the events which led to Daniel’s being thrown into the lions’ den.

A certain prudery has often led to the Susanna story’s being dropped or substituted by a more innocuous text (or worse, is dropped because of its length by those celebrants who think that the only good liturgy is a short one!). But as Cardinal Newman once said:

“We cannot write a sinless literature about sinful man.”

This applies very much to the Bible. It is only in the context of our sinful weakness that we can fully appreciate the greatness and the compassion of our God.

Susanna’s situation needs a little explanation since, depending on the verses chosen for the First Reading, the first part of the story may not be in our reading. It is about two lecherous men and an innocent married woman (Susanna) who is led into a clever trap from which there seems no escape. However, the woman defends her integrity at the risk of being falsely accused of being unfaithful to her husband, and in a society that was even less forgiving in these matters than our own. In fact, the whole community, after hearing the evidence from the two men, was ready to stone her for her adultery and indicated this by laying their hands on the woman’s head.

She would certainly have been executed by stoning if the “young lad named Daniel” had not come on the scene. The rest of the story is a description of his integrity, his sense of justice and insight. Through his clever and separate examination of the woman’s accusers, he proves them liars and the sharp contrast between the two trees mentioned—one being quite small and the other very tall and majestic—only made clearer the inconsistency of the two men’s evidence. According to the law, they end up receiving the punishment originally intended for the woman.

The focus of this long and dramatic story is really on Daniel, on his perception and wisdom, and on him as a champion of justice. In contrast, the liturgy of John’s Gospel (John 8:1-11, read yesterday on Sunday of Week 5 of Lent in Year C and today in Years A and B), tells the story of another and very different case of adultery. That is a situation where the woman is clearly guilty, and yet wins Jesus’ total forgiveness.

On reading both stories, we might reflect on how often we stand in judgement of others, especially in the area of sexuality. Adultery is a very common theme that runs through many stories in the Bible, as well as the fatal punishment meted out. We might do well, however, to remember that one does not commit adultery alone, and this should not be overlooked.

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