Mercy. To help others come to him.

Let us imagine God as mercy. “I don’t judge you, either. Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

The Gospel shows us, sinners, when we accuse other sinners before Jesus. We can have more perspectives on the passage about the woman caught in sin, the behavior of those who brought her before Jesus, and the behavior of Jesus. It is necessary to realize that the gospel leads us to humble behavior and acknowledge our sinfulness, as well as the fact that the forgiveness of sins comes from Jesus. The recipients of the gospel are us, each of us. The Pharisees are satisfied with their pseudo-righteousness and will not receive the mercy that was given to the woman they brought to Jesus. The woman is aware of her situation. According to the Law of Moses, for her weakness, of which she was caught and is now accused, she was sentenced to death by stoning. It is true that in the time of Christ, such punishments were rarely carried out. However, the Pharisees are not so much concerned with the woman as they are with attacking Jesus, whom they hated, because he thought differently from them, reproached them for their hypocrisy, and drew people behind him.

They tempted Jesus so they could accuse him. According to them, the answer they expected from Jesus should be either strict rightist or lax. And one answer or another was to be used against Jesus. Jesus found himself in a situation where he had to take a stand on the fate of a person drawn into responsibility through the authority of power. However, Jesus does not reject law and justice, and he also did not reject mercy but gave justice and mercy a true meaning. The Pharisees did not expect such a masterly answer. Jesus told them: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). In these words, the Pharisees understood that they are not without sin either. There are other sins, such as adultery. They, too, have their sins. Jesus gave them a moral lesson in just a few words. Can anyone immediately ask: “And where was the accomplice, the accomplices…?” John writes: “When they heard this, one by one – starting with the elders – they disappeared until he (Jesus) remained alone with the woman who was standing in the middle” (John 8:9). They left, but their shame had nothing to do with humility.

A serious reminder to each of us – regret? The proverb says: “A crow sits with a crow, and equal seeks equal.” Or: “Wolf with wolves.” They easily destroy their conscience and others as well. We are weak people. However, when we humbly confess our sins and awaken in our hearts pain over our sins and those of others, we can expect mercy from our God. He is our God. We know that when we renounce sin again and again, 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