March 13, 2016 — Fifth Sunday of Lent
Is 43: 16-21; Ps 126: 1-6; Phil 3: 8-14; Jn 8: 1-11
“Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.” This is how our Gospel Reading from St. John describes Jesus’ immediate response to when the woman accused of adultery is brought before Him. Immediately after this the Lord says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
In the original Greek the word used for “bent down” literally meant, “stooped down.” The word describes doing something that was considered very humbling; quite likely Jesus was trying to put the woman at ease, to identify with her. Jesus identifies with the woman, and He makes a gesture to let her know that.
We often speak of seeing Jesus in others, in treating them in a way that reflects love and caring, not judgment. Blessed Mother Teresa (who will officially become a saint this coming September) once stated, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, ‘This is hungry Jesus. I must feed Him.’ Or ‘This is sick Jesus who has leprosy and gangrene.’ I serve because I love Jesus.”
Stewardship calls us to show the same kind of love reflected by Jesus in the Gospel and in the words and actions of Mother Teresa. We, too, are called to find and see Jesus in all we meet, to be willing to humble ourselves if necessary to serve and care for them. There are ways we can do this among the ministries right here in our own faith community.
