One of the most beautiful characteristics of Our Lord is His
hunger for souls. The Son of Man became incarnate to free us
from sin and offer us eternal life. His suffering and death
on the cross show the lengths that He will go in order to
save us. During the season of Lent, and in particular during
Holy Week and the Triduum, we contemplate this mystery not
only in sorrow, but also with an eternal hope, for we know
God desires our salvation.
The Gospel is full of examples of God's desire to save us, in
particular when Jesus encounters public sinners. We see it in
His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, a woman
of disrepute to whom He gently revealed that He was the
Messiah come to lead her to salvation (Jn 4:4-42). We see it
also with the call of St. Matthew, a (likely) crooked tax
collector who Jesus invited to be an apostle and one of His
intimate companions. Even in the last moments before His
death on the cross, Jesus invited the penitent criminal
crucified on His right to enter into eternal life (Lk
23:39-43). In order to save us, Jesus cannot help seeking out
the sinner to offer His mercy.
We see it again in the familiar story of the woman caught in
adultery. The scribes and Pharisees brought her to Jesus in
order to trick Our Lord. The law of the Israelites stated
that those caught in adultery were to be put to death, and
the scribes and Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus contradicting
the law. He was a rabbi who taught His followers to love
their enemies and pray for those who persecuted them, so they
must have been confident Jesus would offer the same
extraordinary mercy to this woman. In a sense, Jesus
circumvented their plans. He did not directly contradict the
law; instead, He put a condition on its execution: "Let the
one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a
stone at her" (Jn 8:7).
Beginning with the elders whose wisdom was the fruit of
experience, each of the scribes and Pharisees walked away.
Left alone with the woman, Jesus did not condemn her, but
instead let her go, again offering a condition: "Go, and from
now on do not sin anymore" (Jn 8:11).
In His actions, we must recognize also how Jesus showed mercy
on the scribes and Pharisees, for He met them in their
condemnation and brought them to see their neighbors with new
eyes. They, too, fell short of what they were called to be.
They, too, needed God's mercy and forgiveness. Thus, their
own sinfulness became a means for their merciful actions.
In His divine nature, Jesus is drawn to the sinner. Carmelite
Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene wrote, "It almost seems
that God, in loving us, is attracted by our weakness, not
because it is lovable, but because being infinite goodness,
His compassion stoops to compensate for it by His mercy.
God, the supreme, eternal good, wants to be the
remedy for all our ills."
Not one of us is free to cast the first stone. We are all
sinners in need of a savior. While this may seem like a
depressing thought, instead we should rejoice in it. St.
Francis de Sales, contemplating his sinfulness, offers this
perspective: "I know what sort of a being I am; and yet even
though I feel (I am) miserable, I am not troubled at it. Nay,
I am sometimes joyful at it, considering that I am truly a
fit object for the mercy of God."
In this Lenten season, a season of deeper conversion, let us
seek to follow Christ's command to sin no more, especially in
the areas we know we are prone to fall. However, when we do
fall, may our response be one of joy and trust, for we know
Our Savior seeks us out, for He cannot help offering us His
mercy. May we go to Him in our sinfulness and allow Him to
embrace us in His perfect mercy.
Fr. Wagner is Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde's secretary.