First Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21 / Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 126:1-2ab.2cd-3.4-5.6 (R. cf. 3) Second Reading: Philippians 3:8-14 / Gospel: John 8:1-11
Theme: I Will Make Everything New!
Today, the penultimate Sunday before we enter Holy Week, the liturgy serves us the menu of new things. God tenderly, mercifully and lovingly punctuates the seemingly long Lenten journey with divine surprises! Being a period filled with a lot of temptations, falls, spiritual battles and ‘dryness’ which make us feel like giving up and giving in, today’s readings come to lift us up, providing rays of hope, ounces of encouragement, menu of forgiveness, tons of strength and beams of direction. The famous American Gospel musician, Don Moen, sung the popular song which runs thus:
God will make a way when there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see He will make a way for me
He will be my guide; Draw me closely to his side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way…He will make a way
Indeed, at his own time, and according to his own will and plan, God will surprise us and bless all our efforts. This is basically what the Prophet Isaiah tells us in the first reading. In this pericope, God promises us new and mighty things in our life. This new thing is even greater than the Exodus experience of the Israelites. We read thus: “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like wick (Is. 43:16-17). Pursued by their enemy-slave-masters, the Egyptians, and seriously constrained by lack of options for escape, God surprises the Israelites when he makes a way for them to walk on dry land in the middle of the sea while the same sea swallows up their attackers (cf. Ex. 14:21-31). Wow, God is able to do this?.
As if this miracle is not enough, God again assures us: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert…to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise” (Is. 43:18-21). What more fitting promise and hope is better than this? The one who makes this promise is not man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind (cf. Num. 23:19). We have every reason to trust and obey God because when he promises, he fulfils with surprises!
To welcome the new things God wants to do in our lives, we need to let go of the past, the old ways of doing things as the second reading exhorts us. St. Paul understood this principle and applied it in his life saying: “I count everything as loss…and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection…Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own…but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:8-14). Surely, we are encouraged to be optimistic in our struggles remembering that it is not so much about what and who we have been, but what and who we can become! Let us stop brooding over yesterday. It is gone for good. We have today and by the grace of God, tomorrow! Our greatness lies ahead! Our future is brighter in and with Jesus.
Yes, our future is brighter in and with Jesus Christ! Listen to what Jesus tells the woman caught in adultery, an offence which would have resulted in her death by stoning: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” (Jn. 8:10; see also Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:13-24). When the woman replies ‘No one, Lord’ (Jn. 8:11a), Jesus speaks compassionately to her: “Neither do I condemn you; go and do not sin again” (Jn. 8:11b). Thus, in today’s Gospel, we learn that God loves the sinner but hates sin. Even now, God tells us: “Go and sin no more.” If there is anything we can do to write a new story about our lives, then we need to repent, to turn around and reform our lives. This repentance must lead to a deep conversion, a totally transformed person and a new personality.
The purpose of the sacraments is to lead us to genuine conversion and a life of grace. However, being sacramentalised without being converted is a non-starter! It is akin to the situation where the Scribes and Pharisees who know the law of God, decidedly turn a blind eye, leaving the man who committed adultery with the woman to go scot-free, yet, are very zealous to stone the woman to death. Added to this, their evil intention is to use this incidence to trap Jesus in order to “have some charge to bring against him” (Jn. 8:6). Oops, this is the hypocrisy, injustice and double-standard Jesus wants us to avoid at all cost. This is what Jesus means when he says: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn. 8:7). Jesus wants us to be in touch with reality, to be aware of our own fallen state and make amends sincerely. Even at this, Jesus does not condone the woman’s sin; rather, he meets her with a warm and irresistible love, the kind which turns a sinner into a saint! Let us imitate Christ, by treating each other with genuine love for the sake of the other, for love alone has the power to cover multitudes of sin (cf. I Pet. 4:8; Prov. 10:12).
God has promised us something new today. He will do it for he is faithful. Let us believe in him. Like the Pharisees and Scribes, we can choose not to be open for conversion. The more Jesus or the word of God makes us aware of our state, the more we scheme and cover it up with more evil. If we are criticised constructively, we need humility to accept our mistakes, do introspection and allow positive reforms into our lives. The tendency to discredit those who positively criticise us by finding faults with them does not help us mature physically and spiritually. If we fail to be in touch with our own sinfulness, we would also fail to understand those who make mistakes, and need our compassion. Doing religion without inner conversion is a useless enterprise and a waste of time!
In the silence of our hearts, let us address these questions to ourselves: What has become a desert, a wilderness, in my life? Do I still brood on the past events, imprisoned by sin and the past? Am I ready to let go of the past, in order to usher in the new? What can I do differently to embrace new and positive changes? Am I open to the grace and mercy of God by making serious efforts to repent each day and to cooperate with his graces? Is my relationship with others undergirded by evil machinations, hypocrisy and duplicity? Am I condemnatory and critical of others without being sympathetic and compassionate? Do I see myself as righteous and all others, sinners? Do I truly forgive? With the difficulties and weaknesses in my life, do I still trust in God’s power to save me?
Indeed, God will make a way for us. We too will have the opportunity to chant with the Psalmist: “What great deeds the Lord worked for us! Indeed, we were glad” (Ps. 126:3). If we believe, our faith will save us. Let us press on towards the goal of salvation, gazing on Jesus all the way! Happy Sunday and God bless us! Remember God’s promise: #I-Will-Make-Everything-New#
