Not casting the first stone

Holy Week and the Paschal Triduum, with the former beginning a week from today with Palm Sunday, is drawing near. As we enter this time of contemplation and reflection, allow me to share with you our discussion and sharing about our spiritual journey.

Father Andrew de Vera, spiritual director of the Secular Oblates of the Holy Family (OHF), reminded us about our spiritual journey with Joseph, Mary and Jesus as the focal point.

As Oblates we dedicate ourselves to God through the inspiration of the Holy Family. Guided also by the Word of God, we are all called to keep in mind how we should prepare ourselves well so that we may truly embody our faith and belief in our every moment of life, that we may truly bear the rich fruits of this Lenten observance and practice that hopefully we have carried out well and faithfully throughout this blessed time and season.

Through Jesus Christ we have received the promise of the Resurrection, the ultimate triumph against sin and death, which we all shall share in just as we have shared in His sufferings and death on the Cross.

In our Gospel passage today, Jesus encountered a group of Pharisees and teachers of the Law who sought to trap Him with the case of a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery.

According to Jewish laws and customs, especially the extra strict and rigid rules enforced by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, the punishment for adultery was death by stoning.

If the Lord had said the adulterous woman should be shown mercy and forgiven, as His enemies would have expected Him to do given His penchant for reaching out to sinners like prostitutes and tax collectors, then the Pharisees could accuse Him of colluding with and siding with sinners, thus disobeying the Law of God.

On the other hand, if the Lord said the adulterous woman should be stoned, that was exactly what the Pharisees would have done, and this would add to their popularity and cause by claiming that what Jesus taught affirmed the ways and teachings of the Pharisees.

But the Lord calmly evaded the argument, as we have all heard, while the Pharisees continued to pressure Him to take action against the adulterous woman. It was then that Jesus in His Divine Wisdom told the people that if any one among them was without sin, they should cast the first stone.

And one by one, the people left, beginning with the oldest, who likely had committed the most sins and disobedience to God, to the youngest. The truth is there was one person there who was without sin — Jesus Himself. And although He could have cast the first stone, Jesus showed us all the meaning and importance of God’s generous mercy and forgiveness.

My regards to Father Ryan Bores, OHF, my formator; to our Moderator, the Very Reverend James Philip Monserate, OHF; to Father Andrew de Vera, Father Jun Vasquez, Father Randy and to Brothers Kim Arnie Frial, Rio Disini and Bonaventure Labor.