Readings for April 5-6, Fifth Sunday of Lent, Scrutiny Year A Readings
By Fr. Edward Looney | For On Mission
You are not defined by your past. You are not the sum of the sins. The grace of the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is that we can be forgiven, we can begin again.
Jesus gave many people a new lease on life through his public ministry. From healings to forgiveness, each individual was sent forth by Jesus to live their lives in the present moment, that everything going forward was changed because of the encounter they had with him.
Isaiah says today in the first reading, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see I am doing something new!”
I am willing to bet that this is how the woman in today’s Gospel must have felt. The Gospel says that she was caught in the act of adultery. The people around her wanted to have her killed as punishment.
But Jesus steps in, writes in the sand, and one by one they begin to walk away, and then it is just her and Jesus. Jesus tells her, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Forgiveness has made her free. The savior of the world has given her a second chance.
I wonder what happened to that woman. Did she stay in that town, or did she pick up her things and relocate? Could she have become a follower of the apostles and followed them? If she stayed in that town, how did people receive her afterward? Were they always talking about her, whispering about her to another, when she passed by?
What about that woman herself? Every day she woke up and started a new day, was she reminded of her past? Did the memories of what she had done cripple her?
“Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see I am doing something new!” These words from Isaiah were meant for her. Do not dwell on the past. It cannot be changed.
But what can be changed is how you live your life right now. Every day she woke up should have been a day to praise and thank God for the mercy he showed her. And each day, she had to live up to those words of Jesus, “Go and sin no more.”
Each one of us is a little bit like this woman. She was caught in adultery. Certainly, someone has caught us in a lie or gossiping. During these Lenten days, hopefully each one of us stands in line for confession, and it is there, in that confessional, that we are one on one with Jesus, who willingly forgives us for our sins. And as we are absolved, we are sent to go and sin no more, too.
We might slip up and return for mercy. But we try our best to amend our life and to change. The Lord is doing something new in your life. It’s given to us by his grace. Make use of that grace, forgetting your past sins, and living for Jesus in the present moment.
Fr. Edward Looney serves as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Shawano, and priest celebrant of St. Martin of Tours Parish, Cecil. He hosts the podcast “Hey Everybody! It’s Fr. Edward.”
The readings for Sunday, April 6, can be found at Fifth Sunday of Lent | USCCB