Mercy. To help others to come to it.

Imagine God as mercy. “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” (Jn. 8:11).

The Gospel shows us sinners at the moment when we accuse other sinners before Jesus. We can have multiple perspectives on the passage about the woman caught in sin and the behavior of those who brought her before Jesus, as well as the behavior of Jesus. It is important to remember that the gospel leads us to humble ourselves, acknowledge our sinfulness, and that forgiveness of sins comes from Jesus. We are the recipients of the gospel, each one of us. The Pharisees are satisfied with their pseudo-righteousness and will not receive the mercy that the woman they brought to Jesus received. The woman is aware of her situation. According to the Law of Moses, for her weakness in which she was caught and is now accused, she faces the penalty of death by stoning. Indeed, in the days of Christ, such punishments were rarely carried out. But the Pharisees were not so much concerned with the woman as they were with attacking Jesus, whom they hated because He thought differently from them, rebuked their hypocrisy, and drew people after Him.

They tempted Jesus so they could accuse him. The response they expected from Jesus was, in their view, to be either rigorously rigoristic or lax. And one answer or the other was to be used against Jesus. Jesus found himself having to take a stand on the fate of a man dragged into accountability through the authority of power. But Jesus did not reject justice and righteousness, nor did he reject mercy, but he gave justice and mercy a true meaning. The Pharisees did not count on such a masterful response. Jesus said to them: “He among you who is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” (Jn. 8:7). In these words, the Pharisees understood that they, too, were not without sin. There are other sins, such as adultery. They, too, have their vices. Jesus taught them a moral lesson in a few words. Someone may immediately ask: “And where was the accomplice, the accomplices…?” John writes: “As they heard these things, one by one, beginning with the elders, they fled away, until he (Jesus) was left alone with the woman who stood in the midst.” (Jn. 8:9). They left, but their shame had nothing to do with humility.

A solemn remembrance to each of us – a rebuke? Proverbs says: “The crow sits by the crow, and the equal seeks the equal.” Or: “Wolf to wolves.” They have no trouble destroying their consciences and others as well. We are weak people. But when we confess our sins in humility, when we awaken in our hearts the pain of our sins and those of others, we can expect mercy from our God. He is our God. When we renounce sin repeatedly, we are strengthened in our love for Christ. We realize the significance of Christ’s suffering for our sins. God is a just Judge, but He is also merciful. We want to live in Christ, and Christ to live in us.