5th Sunday of Lent (Fr. Simham)

Caterpillar or a fig, who are you

Today’s gospel titled “Woman caught in adultery” is taken from the 8th chapter of St. John which deals with Jesus as light of the world. That is why immediately after this incident Jesus declares “I am the light of the world and he who believes in me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8/12.) Now what does it mean to live in the light?

A rabbi asked his students what criterion might be used to determine that the night had ended. One student said the night had ended when there was enough light to tell a goat from a sheep. Another said when you could distinguish an apple tree from a fig tree. The rabbi gave this answer: “A new day has arrived when you can look at a human face, and see a brother or a sister. If you are unable to see a brother or a sister in every human face, you are still in the darkness of night.”

Yes to live in light is to see a brother or sister in others. But here in the incident the Pharisees and scribes are not able to see a sister in the woman. If it is their own sister or family member they would not have brought her to the public and humiliated her. They don’t even see a human person in her. For them she is an object to be exploited.

All these days they used her as an object of pleasure and once she is caught she is used as a trap to catch Jesus. If he says don’t punish her he will be breaking mosaic law, so he becomes unpopular, if he allows punishment he becomes enemy to Romans who reserve the right to capital punishment. So she in her sinful state is a trap. For the accusers she is as ugly as a caterpillar. So they do not treat her with dignity. They are ready with the stones to throw at her. Stone of law , stone of justice, stone of propriety etc After all she is an ugly caterpillar.

Let us turn to the woman. What is her state of mind?

She was terrified and humiliated. She was terrified because the Scribes and the Pharisees wanted to kill her. She was humiliated because her private sin or sins had now become public knowledge. They made her stand right there in the middle of the crowd. Embarrassed and disgraced, maybe she thought that she would be better off dead. That is what sin does to people who still have a conscience. She is filled with remorse and contrition. If and only if she could find a way out she can start a new life altogether, away from this selfish people. She is like a caterpillar caught in the cocoon.

Now what is Jesus’ attitude to her? Jesus looks at that caterpillar in the cocoon and knows that when it comes out it will be a beautiful butterfly. Scripture scholars say that the woman who was caught in adultery is none other than Mary Magdalene, who was his ardent woman disciple and who had the privilege of seeing the risen Jesus first. Yes indeed she was a beautiful butterfly after coming out of her cocoon of sinfulness.

And Jesus turns towards the accusers who stand pointing a finger at her. When I was child I was always taught to look at my fingers when I point my finger at others. One points to the person whom I am accusing, one points to God who created the accused and sadly three fingers point at me who is accusing. That is the case here.

When Jesus looks at the accusers, they look like figs to his eyes. You know the figs. They look nice and red outside, very beautiful. You feel like swallowing like that without even washing them. But be careful. If you break open the fruit You’ll see lot of insects and worms moving inside the fruit. But they look nice, smooth and immaculate outside. Pharisees and scribes who came accusing her are like that. In Luke’s gospel he calls them as white washed tombs, similar to figs. Outside they look as if they love the law and want to know about its practicality in that particular situation, but inside they are filled with malice and want to trap him. Jesus can read into their hearts. So he says if you are here without any malice you can condemn her, because sin has to be punished. They know that he knows their sinfulness so they leave one after the other.

And looking at the woman he says

“ Go and live a beautiful life of repentance not an ugly life of sin.” And that is what she does.

Now the lesson is this. Jesus encounters two types of sinners in today’s gospel.

We can identify ourselves to any one of these. One was a sinner who realized her sinfulness and wanted to change; another is a group of people who never realized their sinfulness and hence never wanted to change. And in this Jesus preferred to support the one who wanted to change. Lesson for you and me is this. “Don’t take pride in being an ugly sinful caterpillar or malicious fig covered with smooth skin, but rejoice in making yourself into a beautiful butterfly this season of lent. Amen

Fr. Showreelu Simham