There’s a great deal of making rushed judgments and demanding immediate answers in today’s Gospel. Only Jesus seems to take the time carefully to read the whole situation. He bends down and starts doodling in the dust, pondering, reflecting, seeing the wider picture. The woman is merely a means to an end; they have no interest in her – they just want to trap Jesus. Is He going to agree with the law, thereby sacrificing the woman’s life and undermining His reputation as a man with a message of the boundless compassion of God for all, even sinners? The Pharisees want a “yes”or “no”answer to a question of moral law, as if they were dealing with a math problem. But when it comes to people’s lives, things are seldom so clear-cut. We know nothing of the woman’s circumstances, nothing of the man she was with, or why she was with him. Context is everything. Jesus is aware of their motives. But also, He is aware of the person involved. They separate her from the rest of the people. It’s easier to judge and condemn someone who is singled our as different, other, not one of us. They isolate the woman. Jesus doesn’t the exact opposite; He connects her to them. Whatever the reason for the woman’s adultery, whether she was victim or wrongdoer, Jesus’ response, “If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone.” For who has not committed sin? Who doesn’t stand in need of the mercy of God? Once that connection is made, it becomes impossible for anyone to condemn the woman, for in doing so they would be condemning themselves. Jesus reminds them – us – of what unites us as human beings; and when that happens, compassion and mercy become not just possible, but the only options left open.
Mercy is life-giving and transforms us so that, like the woman in the Gospel, we cease to live in isolation, held captive by our history. When we truly experience God’s mercy, it’s not just our view of ourselves that is transformed, but our understanding of humanity and our place in it. Judgment and condemnation are replaced by compassionate awareness of our solidarity and communion with the whole human family.