Blessed are the pure of heart

[5th Sunday of Lent, Year C, 13 March 2016 / Isa 43:16-2 / Ps 126:1-2a, 2b-3, 4-5, 6 / Phil 3:8-14 / John 8:1-11]

THIS week’s gospel recounts the well known episode when Jesus encounters the adulterous woman. As St Augustine noted, it was the encounter between misery and mercy. The woman caught in flagrant adultery should have been stoned to death, according to the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 20:10). Instead, Jesus bends down and writes on the ground, not once but twice. What did he write? One of the Greek words used is katagraphein, which means to list down. Some have suggested that Jesus was listing down the names of all the men this woman knew and it included all the ones present who wanted to stone her! That’s why they went away!