Weekly thoughts on the Sunday Gospel, readings or a topic...

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seeing your life through the lens of the gospels – John 8:1-11
1. Compassion for human frailty combined with a gentle challenge to a better life marked the response of Jesus. From whom have you experienced a compassionate challenge? What was that like for you? To whom have you given such a challenge?
2. The Pharisees and scribes self-righteously condemned the woman until Jesus brought them in touch with their own sinfulness. This was a conversion moment for them and they turned away from their quest for the death of the woman. Have there been times when your awareness of your own fragility and sinfulness has helped you to be less judgemental of others?
3. ‘What do you say?’ can be an embarrassing question. Jesus had the courage to voice an opinion, even though it was against the party line of the day. When you have seen that courage shown, by yourself, or by another? What was the result?  – John Byrne, OSA

The Deep End
‘No need to recall the past, No need to think about what was done before. See, I am doing a new deed...’ (Isaiah 43: 18-19)
‘All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead...’ (Phil 3:13)
These poignant words taken from today’s first and second readings provide the perfect preamble to our dramatic Gospel reading. Perhaps the line that is most often quoted from the story of the woman caught in adultery is Jesus’ challenge to the crowd who bring her before them: ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ It is a challenge to all of us to look inward before we ‘cast stones’ to judge others.
But there is another equally powerful statement here by Jesus, this time to the woman herself. It is delivered quietly, when she is left alone with Jesus after all her accusers have drifted away: ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go away, and don’t sin any more.’ We notice that Jesus doesn’t rake over the woman’s past. He doesn’t ask her about the claims of her accusers. He does not condemn or criticise her. Instead he accepts her, loves her, treats her with the respect and dignity that was so lacking in the mob, and gently nudges her forward into a new way of living.  – Tríona Doherty

(from Intercom)