Sunday, April 6, 2025 - Homily

 

Sunday, April 6, 2025 - God does not need to forgive because God does not condemn

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 43:16-21; Phil 3:8-14; Jn 8:1-11

A Jesuit friend of mine, who is now with God, was steeped in Ignatian and Jesuit Spirituality. He said to me one day, when he was 86 years old, “Errol, did you know that God does not forgive.” I was taken aback by his statement and, in my naiveté, began to quote the many texts from both the Old and New Testament that speak of the unconditional mercy and love of God. After I had finished my spiel, he turned to me with a twinkle in his eye and said, with a smile, “God does not forgive, because God does not condemn”. A few months later, we met again, but he had forgotten what he had told me and repeated the statement. This time, I was ready and knew what was coming. However, since I did not want to spoil the great finale for him, I pretended that I was hearing it for the first time and again, began to quote the scripture texts of God’s unconditional mercy, forgiveness, and love. When I had finished, he said, “God does not forgive, because God does not condemn.” After that, every time we met, he would begin his conversation with me by saying, “God does not forgive” and he would end our conversation by saying, “because God does not condemn”. As I reflected on his words, I began to think that if, as he grew older, that is all he remembered, it was surely enough. He needed nothing more.

The Gospel text of today speaks, not of the forgiveness of God but, of non-condemnation. In the Gospel today, Jesus has no need to forgive the woman caught in adultery because he has not condemned her. It is important to note, however, that Jesus also does not condemn the condemners of the woman. He condemns no one. Many fanciful interpretations have been given about Jesus’ action of writing on the ground when he is asked the question. While some think that Jesus was writing the sins of the bystanders, others think that he did not hear the question or, that he was trying to gain time to come up with a good answer. Still others think that Jesus was overcome by shame and embarrassment at the question and so, stooped down so as to hide his face. Nothing in the text allows such interpretations and it may well be that the reason Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground was to distance himself from the situation and refuse to play judge. Be that it may, after Jesus has challenged the accusers of the woman to cast a stone at her if they are sinless, he bends down and writes on the ground once again. It seems plausible to interpret this second action of Jesus as stemming from his desire to condemn and to judge no one. He will not even accuse or judge the very ones who have accused and judged the woman. This is the challenge of unconditional love.

This love was manifested to the people of Israel, as narrated in the first reading of today, when, through the words of Isaiah, the Lord promised the people a “new thing”. This was because the “former things” were not remembered anymore. They were forgotten and erased. The “new thing” which the Lord will do is make a way in the wilderness. He will travel like a shepherd on this way, and will lead his flocks to safety and nourishment.

This is also the “new thing” that Paul is convinced he has received and, because of which, all the old or former things are of no consequence whatsoever. They are to be counted as refuse when compared with the gain of knowing and experiencing the unconditional forgiveness and love of God made manifest in Jesus. This is also made explicit in the words Jesus spoke to the woman caught in adultery. Jesus said, “Do not sin again”. He is not stating what is required for acquittal. He is acquitting freely and without reservation. This unconditional love has to become the starting point for a new life that one is challenged to live.

The readings of today are thus a consolation to everyone, no matter to which category we may belong. If we are like the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel story of today, quick to condemn others and point fingers at them, the readings are saying to us that God will not condemn us or point a finger at us. We have been forgiven for this sin and forgiven unconditionally. If we identify with the woman in the Gospel story, then to us, too, the message is that our sin has been erased and that we have been forgiven, unconditionally. However, no matter with whom we identify, the next step after having experienced the forgiveness of God in Jesus is, like Paul, to forget what lies in the past and to press on to what lies ahead. And, what lies ahead, is only unconditional forgiveness, mercy, and love. Will we press on?

Saturday, April 5, 2025 - Homily

 

Saturday, April 5, 2025 - Will you understand that God will reveal himself to you in ways you never even considered? Will you find him in everything that happens today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Jer11:18-20; Jn 7:40-52

The invitation of Jesus to the thirsty to come and drink from the living water that he will give leads to the discussion among the people which begins the text for today. While those who come on hearing this invitation regard Jesus as “the” prophet, others explicitly call him the Messiah. Still others question whether Jesus could really be the Messiah because of the popular belief that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem. Yet it was also true that some believed that the origins of the Messiah would be a mystery and no one would know where he would come from. These contrary views lead to a difference of opinion and though some want to arrest Jesus they do not lay hands on him.

When the police return to inform their masters that they could not arrest Jesus because they had never heard anyone speak like him, they are accused of having also been deceived by Jesus and taken in by his sophistry.

Nicodemus who is also one of the Jewish authorities speaks on behalf of Jesus and reminds his companions of the law and a hearing that was required before judgement. His question is ironic and seems intended to bring out that his companions knowledge of the law is a matter of doubt. They respond to Nicodemus in the same way in which they respond to the temple police. They deride him and assert their seemingly superior knowledge of scripture. Though they are emphatic that no prophet is to arise from Galilee, this knowledge is faulty, because the scriptures do speak of the Galilean origins of the prophet Jonah. John intends to convey through this assertion on the part of the Pharisees that they had misunderstood both the origins of the Messiah and who he is. Traditional messianic categories are inadequate because they rely on prior assumptions and expectations rather than judging Jesus on the basis of what he reveals about himself: that he is the one sent from God.

Jesus will always remain bigger than anything that we can ever imagine. Our most intimate encounters with him must make us realize this. He cannot be captured by the concepts, words or images that we use and while these help us to get to know his better, they will always be inadequate. Yet, this does not mean that we cannot know him as intimately as we want to. He reveals himself to each of us according to the level of openness we possess.

Friday, April 4, 2024 - Homily

 

Friday, April 4, 2025 - Will you open your eyes, ears and heart and SEE that God is present in our world even today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Wis 2:1,12-22; Jn 7:1-2,10,25-30

The feast of the tabernacles was originally a harvest festival and was linked to the journey of Israel in the desert after the exodus when they stayed in tents or booths. It was a seven day festival that brought great joy and during this festival people lived in booths to remember their sojourn and God’s graciousness to them. The liturgical rites performed during this festival, included water libation and torch-lit processions. These form the background for the discourse of Jesus during this festival.

The crowds are surprised to see Jesus teaching in public despite the death threats and so wonder if he could indeed be the Messiah. They also wonder if the authorities know that Jesus is the Messiah but are denying it for some reason. Soon, “reasonableness” gives way to insight and intuition when the crowds go back to their stereotypes. They “know” where Jesus comes from and since no one will know where the Messiah comes from, Jesus cannot be the Messiah. The fact is that the crowds know only one aspect of Jesus’ antecedents. Jesus informs them that they are not aware that his real origin is in God. One will only be able to recognize and know Jesus when one realizes that he comes from God and has been sent by him. This upsets the listeners and though they try to arrest him, they cannot do so, because the ordained hour set by God has not yet come.

The crucial question here is whether or not one perceives Jesus as having been sent by God. The answer to this question determines whether one is on the right track or engaged in only superficial reflection. One reason why the authorities could not recognize Jesus as having been sent by God was because they had made up their minds already. They refused to let God work in the way he wanted. They decided how God must work and how the Messiah would come. They “knew”. This “knowledge” led to their being closed to the revelation that God made, so that even after he came, they continued to look for another.

God continues to come to us in various disguises and forms. He comes in persons, events and situations. If we decide in advance how he must come, then there is the danger that we too might continue to miss him and not be aware of his presence. The way to be able to find him in all things and all things in him is to be open and receptive and let God be God. It is to open our eyes, ears and every fiber of our being to the revelation that he will make and to be prepared for that revelation in the most unexpected persons, places and events.

Thursday, April 3, 2025 - Homily

 

Thursday, April 3, 2025 - Do you believe in Jesus? How will you show that you are a “believer”?

To read the texts click on the texts: Exod 32:7-14; Jn 5:31-47

The text of today contains the second part of the discourse of Jesus in response to the outrage of the Jewish leaders because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. It can be seen to be divided into two parts. The first part speaks about the witnesses John and the Father who testify to Jesus’ claims and the second part about the rejection of Jesus and the unbelief of the leaders.

The witness that Jesus offers is not his own since no one can legitimately or validly bear witness on his own behalf. The first witness Jesus mentions here is John the Baptist who in the Gospel of John is portrayed more as a witness rather than as a precursor or Baptist as he is in the Synoptic Gospels. In witnessing to the truth John witnessed to Jesus since Jesus is the truth. However, John was a mere lamp and not the light so though his testimony is true there is another witness far greater than John and that is the works that Jesus has accomplished after being sent by the Father. “Works’ here seems to refer not just to the miracles that Jesus worked but to the whole of his ministry. These works are the works of the Father and so bear witness to him and to the relationship that Jesus shares with him as Son. Since Jesus as Son does what God as father commands him to do, Jesus completes the Father’s own works. The third witness is the Father himself. God himself cannot be seen, yet, he has been made visible in Jesus and the Jewish leaders have refused to believe the God made so visible.

The scriptures also testify on behalf of Jesus and though the leaders search and study the scriptures because they seek life, they refuse to believe what they learn there, namely that Jesus is the one who gives life and life in abundance. This is because they are unable to distinguish truth from falsehood. It is not Jesus but Moses himself who will accuse them of unbelief. This is because Moses also testified to Jesus and despite his testimony, they have refused to believe. If one believes what Moses wrote, one has to believe in Jesus, there is no middle ground here.

It is not easy to believe in Jesus, because such a belief calls for a radical change in one’s life’s orientation. Belief in Jesus will mean a movement from selfishness to selfless, domination to service and fear to love and not many are inclined to make this change. Most of us are content to live our lives insulated from others and preferring to live as islands rather than as community. We pretend not to know who we are and what our calling is. It seems easier this way. However, as the Gospel text makes clear there is no middle ground and if one is not willing to live the kind of life that Jesus invites us to as his disciples, then one is a non-believer.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - Homily

 

Wednesday, April 2, 2025 - Jesus revealed the Father through all that he said and did. Will you reveal Jesus by what you say and do today?

To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 49:8-15; Jn 5:17-30

These verses contain the first discourse in the Gospel of John. It is made up of many closely related themes. The Jews are outraged that Jesus has healed on the Sabbath and in answer to this outrage Jesus answers them in the following verses. To the charge that Jesus was making himself equal to God, Jesus answers that he as Son can do nothing apart from the Father. He is completely dependent on the Father and merely does the Father’s work. The Father reveals all that he does to his Son including raising the dead and giving them life. Thus the Son shares in the life giving work of the Father. The Son has also been given the power and authority to judge. This implies that everyone is under the Son’s reign and rule, and thus must confer on him the same honour that is conferred on the Father. The one who does not honour the Son does not honour the Father since it is the Father who has sent the Son.

To hear the Son’s word and believe in God opens the gift of eternal life. The alternative is judgment. This judgement will be based on the response to the Son in the present. Those who accept him and do good will be granted the resurrection of life whereas those who reject the Son and thus do evil will go to the resurrection of condemnation. The now will determine the later, the present will determine the future. This part of the pericope ends with an idea expressed earlier namely that the Son can do nothing on his own and will do nothing on his own, because he seeks only to do the will of his Father.