Neither Do I Condemn You
Father Phil Paxton, CP
To All,
In the chapel at St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat Center in Detroit, there are words posted above the door as you leave the chapel. They are the words that Jesus speaks to the woman caught in adultery that we hear in our Gospel reading for Sunday (John 8:1-11): “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
When I hear this Gospel reading at this point in history, I can’t help but think of the divisions and acts of violence that we see in our society and in the world. Instead of a group of people waiting to stone an individual person, it’s not hard for me to imagine two groups of people with rocks in their hands, waiting to throw them at each other. I can imagine these people with all sorts of justifications and rationalizations about why it’s necessary to throw these rocks at each other: “They are not us. They are dangerous. They seek to destroy our way of life. They must be stopped, and this is the only way.”
When we listen to the Gospel reading, we can see that the life of the woman doesn’t matter to the ones who brought her before Jesus. She is used merely as a means to trap Jesus. Have we decided that their lives don’t matter because they are a part of them?
Although the circumstances in the Gospel reading and the circumstances of our 21st Century world are different, Jesus’ response is still the same: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone…” Jesus’ response is mercy. As God has shown us mercy, we are to show mercy to each other. I have often speculated that the one with whom she committed adultery also had a stone in his hand. In the Gospel, the crowd goes away, “one by one.” I wonder if today someone would still feel justified to throw a stone at the “other.’ I dare say it has already happened.
Are we willing to consider our feelings of moral or patriotic or religious superiority as “so much rubbish,” in the words of our second reading (Philippians 3:8-14)? Again, in the words of St. Paul, can we leave prejudice and condemnation “behind” and strain “forward to what lies ahead,” the coming of God’s kingdom?
In our first reading (Isaiah 3:16-21), God says through the prophet: “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? Although the words of Jesus were spoken thousands of years ago, they are still new to a world content with seeking vengeance and domination. Can we not perceive what God has done for us in the Son of God dying for our sins? Can we not see the love and hope in the Resurrection of Jesus? Why would we still hold onto our stones?
May we walk away from hate and violence. May we let down our stones, not weighed down by them, but now light enough to follow Jesus in love.
I welcome any comments or questions. Thanks for your time.
In Christ,
Phil, CP