Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C) – 6th April 2025

Quick Glance Summary

Theme: The Transforming Power of Mercy

Key Message: God offers us a new beginning—not by denying our past, but by freeing us from it through mercy, inviting us to see with faith and live in hope.

First Reading (Isaiah 43:16–21): Isaiah’s vision of a God who creates life where there was once only wilderness and defeat..

Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 125:1–2, 4–6): The Psalm’s joy in being delivered, not because the people earned it, but because God acted with compassion.

Second Reading (Philippians 3:8–14): St. Paul’s heart has been captured by Jesus, probably connected with his experience of forgiveness. Whatever about his past, he most certainly has a future.

Gospel (John 8:1–11): A woman caught in adultery is brought before Jesus. He neither excuses sin nor condemns the sinner, but opens a path forward in love and truth.

Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C) – 6th April 2025

John 8:1–11

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”

Overview of the Gospel Passage

This deeply moving encounter reveals the heart of Jesus’ mission: not to condemn, but to save. The woman’s accusers are intent on punishment, seeking to use her shame as a trap for Jesus. But He responds with silence, and then with a challenge — not to her, but to them.

The crowd is silenced by their own consciences. Jesus does not excuse the woman’s sin, but He lifts her up, offering a fresh start. His final words to her are both compassionate and challenging: “Do not sin again.” This is the balance of mercy and truth — always rooted in love.

Connecting the Gospel to Cultural and Spiritual Life Today

Illustration: The Gift of a Second Chance

In today’s world, public shame spreads quickly and is rarely followed by compassion. A single mistake — even from long ago — can lead to “cancellation,” social exile, or lasting stigma. Yet in the Gospel, Jesus quietly writes on the ground — a gesture of deflection, of silence before judgment — and gently dismantles the mob’s outrage. He does not shame the woman. He meets her with mercy, not scorn.

We all have moments we’d rather forget, times we’ve fallen short. This Gospel invites us not to dwell in guilt, but to rise again in grace. Jesus doesn’t ignore our failings, but He invites us to move beyond them. He sees not just who we are — but more of who we can become.The person who never made a mistake never made anything. God does not call the ‘qualified’; God ‘qualifies’ those he calls. 

This passage also raises questions about justice and humility. The crowd is eager to judge; Jesus is patient. His challenge still echoes today: Are you without sin? Lent is a time of examining not only our actions, but our attitudes — and asking whether we’re building others up or casting stones.

Lent is a season of returning, of opening our hearts to God’s work within us and around us.  Rather than dwelling on what is past, we are called not to let go of the stones of judgment, and to look and to perceive what God is doing now. This is not permission to ignore our sins. It is a deeper call: to see our lives and the lives of others through the eyes of God’s grace. To believe in the possibility of newness—not just for others, but for ourselves. Even now. To live this way means learning to recognise God’s movement—quiet, unexpected, often hidden. It means choosing mercy over punishment, choosing to walk forward rather than remain stuck in the past. It is not always easy. But it is always possible.

Reflection Questions with Responses

1. Who or what groups might find these readings especially helpful?

• Those burdened by shame or guilt — They may see in the woman a reflection of their own struggles and find hope in Christ’s mercy.
• People returning to the Church — The assurance that Jesus says “Neither do I condemn you” can offer profound healing.
• Young people navigating identity and moral choices — This Gospel models a God who understands weakness yet still calls to holiness.
• Prison and addiction ministry settings — The message that no one is beyond mercy can be life-changing.
• Confessors and spiritual directors — This is a foundational text for guiding others gently back to God.

2. What human weaknesses do they address, and what virtues do they aim to strengthen?

• Weaknesses: Judgmentalism, hypocrisy, public shaming, despair, and fear of being beyond forgiveness.
• Virtues: Mercy, compassion, humility, honesty, and hope. Jesus shows us how to respond not with condemnation but with an invitation to change. The woman is not shamed into silence but dignified into transformation.

3. What is the feeling tone of each reading?

• First Reading: Uplifting and hopeful — God is doing something new.
• Psalm: Joyful and reflective — a sense of restoration and answered prayer.
• Second Reading: Determined and inspired — a pressing on towards Christ.
• Gospel: Intimate, tense, then tender — a powerful turn from accusation to liberation.

4. Which saints or well-known figures exemplify the message of each reading?

• St. Mary Magdalene — Tradition has often associated her with this passage. A life transformed by love and forgiveness.
• St. Augustine — Who knew the pain of sin and the joy of conversion.
• St. Josephine Bakhita — From captivity to freedom, she testified to mercy’s power to heal deep wounds.
• Pope Francis — His emphasis on a “Church as a field hospital” echoes this Gospel's call.

5. What works of art, poems, or pieces of music provide insight into the message?

• "Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery" by Guercino — a tender portrayal of the moment of encounter.
• Handel’s “Messiah” – “He was despised and rejected” — captures the sorrow and redemptive beauty of mercy.
• George Herbert’s poem “Love (III)” — “Love bade me welcome... my dear, then I will serve.”
• Taizé chant “Bless the Lord, my soul” — a quiet affirmation of God's mercy.

6. Where has the message of these readings been true in my life or those close to me, and is there a story I can share about that?

A priest once shared how, during a parish mission, a woman came to confession after over 40 years away. She had lived through much heartbreak and carried deep shame. “I’m not even sure why I came,” she said. He replied gently, “Because you heard Jesus say, ‘Neither do I condemn you.’” She wept with relief, not because she was condemned — but because she wasn’t. That was the beginning of a new life for her. The Gospel came alive — not as a story from long ago, but as a moment of living grace.

First Reading – Isaiah 43:16–21

Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild animals will honour me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself so that they might declare my praise.

Second Reading – Philippians 3:8–14

I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.