Fifth Sunday of Lent
Is.43:16-21 Ps.126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6 Phil.3:8-14 Jn8:1-11
“The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.” The Psalmist reminds us that as we grow, hopefully in wisdom and in grace, this is a prayer which can constantly be on our lips. Isaiah reminds God’s people and us, that God never abandons His people, that He is there in the most challenging of times. Through Isaiah, God speaks: I am doing something new. In Revelation, God says: I make all things new. The parallel awakens in us all the possibilities of life when God is with us.
As only Paul can, he tells us that we can reach our goal, the prize of God’s calling, because we have allowed ourselves to be possessed by Christ; that we can strive to love Father, Son and Spirit; to renounce all that hinders us and thus come to a true knowledge and experience of God’s limitless love for us.
The Gospel presents another facet of God’s love. Like the woman caught in adultery, trembling at the thought of countless stones to be hurled at her, we, too, tremble at our own sinfulness. We are contrite on many levels. What keeps us from despair is knowing the Mercy of a loving God. If Jesus Christ had a middle name, I think it would be Mercy. We have experienced countless times of God’s loving mercy, of God’s patience with us. Because we have, we can always say, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”
Sr. Monica Paul Fraser, OP
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