Then the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the
act of adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone. “Master,” they said, “this woman has
been caught in the act of adultery. Now the law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to
death; but you, what do you say?” They said this to test Jesus, in order to have some charge
against him. Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. And as they
continued to ask him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who has no
sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And he bent down, again, writing on the ground. As a
result of these words, they went away, one by one, starting with the elders, and Jesus was left
alone, with the woman standing before him. Then Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman,
where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one.” And Jesus said, “Neither
do I condemn you; go away and don’t sin again.”

Reflect

“Forgiving ourselves.” God always forgives us. The question is: can we also forgive ourselves?
We know that it is difficult to forgive other people. But there are times when it is even more
difficult to forgive ourselves. To be able to learn the art of forgiveness, the first step is to reach
out to one’s own self together with Jesus. Despite our sinfulness, Jesus’ way of reaching out to
us is non-condemning. With Jesus, self-forgiveness is possible. Today’s Gospel narrates the
woman who was caught in the act of adultery. When they brought the woman to Jesus, the
attitude of the teachers of the law and the Pharisees was condemning. But Jesus’ forgiving
attitude exposed the hypocrisy of the woman’s accusers. When Jesus told them that the one
among them who committed no sin might throw the first stone at her, they left one by one.
In the end, only the woman remained with Jesus. It implies that the woman was able to forgive
herself too. No one was left to condemn her, not even her own self. Today, with Jesus, let us
allow ourselves to be the first recipient of the forgiveness we are to give.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2024