We come across a unique scene in this week’s Gospel. Jesus is sitting down and quietly teaching when a hostile crowd appears. In their custody is a woman accused of adultery. In today’s world, adultery is quite common, sadly. It causes extreme emotional distress for those involved, and it often leads to the legal struggles that come with divorce.
But in Jesus’ time, it was far more severe. Adultery was a crime punishable by death. When the crowd interrupts, they tell Jesus that the law calls for her execution by stoning. They ask Jesus what should be done with her.
This was a clever trap. If Jesus spoke against the woman’s execution, they would discredit Him before the religious authorities for speaking against Mosaic Law. However, if He sanctioned the stoning, He would lose His reputation for love and forgiveness – and He could be tried as a criminal for violating the Roman Law, which did not allow Jews to carry out capital punishment. He was in a no-win situation.
But Jesus remains calm. He pauses and sits silently for a moment. He puts His finger down in the sand and begins to write with it. The silence among the accusers must have been deafening. What was He doing? What was He writing?
After a moment, they press Him again. He looks up and says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus sees this situation differently than everyone else involved. He approaches from a different angle, with a different focus. Notice that only the woman is mentioned, not the man. The double standard is rejected by Jesus, and He sides with the woman, who is only being used as a pawn to catch Him in a legal trap.
One by one, the accusers drop their stones and walk away. When Jesus asks the woman if anyone remains to condemn her, she replies, “No one, Lord.” Jesus then tells her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”
What does this story mean for us today?
In our world, we still struggle with the tension between judgment and grace. We continue to see blame shifting and double standards. We still see hypocrisy and moral superiority. Jesus challenges each of these patterns and puts compassion over condemnation. His mission will always be about healing, forgiveness and mercy; a more inclusive understanding of God’s will.
This doesn’t mean the woman’s sin wasn’t real. Jesus doesn’t ignore her wrongdoing; He does not say her sin does not matter. Broken laws and broken hearts always matter. But He does show that every sinner has a future, not a past. Accountability still has its place, but condemnation does not. If we are to face our own sins, there is no room for stoning.
We say the “Our Father” at every Mass. But sometimes, we might take for granted the words in the prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In other words, “Lord, forgive us for what we do wrong. Meanwhile, we will forgive others who hurt us.”
We never know what happened to the woman. We never hear from her again in the Bible. We didn’t even learn her name. What happened to her after this moment? Did her husband forgive her after Jesus intervened? Did she find a path to healing?
I hope that someone offered her kindness – maybe a shawl and an embrace. I hope someone helped her to her feet, took her home, and helped her rebuild her life with dignity. I hope she found peace, and that everyone she met after that was reminded of Jesus’ forgiveness.
And I hope, as sinners, that we can always remember this story and strive to think and act more like Jesus – quick to forgive and slow to condemn.
