Monday in the 5th Week of Lent, March 22, 2021

Do not condemn—for God forgives

Introduction

The first reading from the Book of Daniel, about a certain Shushanna (Lily) stands for faithful Israel. It comments on the faithfulness of the pious Jews to Yahweh, notwithstanding corruption among (some of) the leaders. This popular tale was a warning against adultery, false witnessing and abuse of power, and an appeal for faithfulness in faith and marriage. In any case, the false accusers of the innocents are condemned by themselves.

Jesus’ words are not unsubstantiated assertions by Jesus alone, for the Father bears witness to him by letting him do wonderful deeds. Just look at the words and actions of Jesus and you know that God stands behind all what he says and does.

Opening Prayer

Just and merciful God,

you take pity even on sinners

and you continue with them

a dialogue of grace and hope.

Help us never to condemn,

never to give up on people,

but to be patient, understanding and forgiving,

together with you and Jesus, your Son,

who lives with you and the Holy Spirit,

for ever and ever. Amen!

1 Reading: Daniel 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62

In Babylon there lived a man named Joakim, who married a very beautiful and God-fearing woman, Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah; her pious parents had trained their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich; he had a garden near his house, and the Jews had recourse to him often because he was the most respected of them all. That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, of whom the Lord said, “Wickedness has come out of Babylon: from the elders who were to govern the people as judges.” These men, to whom all brought their cases, frequented the house of Joakim. When the people left at noon, Susanna used to enter her husband’s garden for a walk. When the old men saw her enter every day for her walk, they began to lust for her. They suppressed their consciences; they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven, and did not keep in mind just judgments. One day, while they were waiting for the right moment, she entered the garden as usual, with two maids only. She decided to bathe, for the weather was warm. Nobody else was there except the two elders, who had hidden themselves and were watching her. “Bring me oil and soap,” she said to the maids, “and shut the garden doors while I bathe.” As soon as the maids had left, the two old men got up and hurried to her. “Look,” they said, “the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us; give in to our desire, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that you dismissed your maids because a young man was here with you.” “I am completely trapped,” Susanna groaned. “If I yield, it will be my death; if I refuse, I cannot escape your power. Yet it is better for me to fall into your power without guilt than to sin before the Lord.” Then Susanna shrieked, and the old men also shouted at her, as one of them ran to open the garden doors. When the people in the house heard the cries from the garden, they rushed in by the side gate to see what had happened to her. At the accusations by the old men, the servants felt very much ashamed, for never had any such thing been said about Susanna. When the people came to her husband Joakim the next day, the two wicked elders also came, fully determined to put Susanna to death. Before all the people they ordered: “Send for Susanna, the daughter of Hilkiah, the wife of Joakim.” When she was sent for, she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. All her relatives and the onlookers were weeping. In the midst of the people the two elders rose up and laid their hands on her head. Through tears she looked up to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly. The elders made this accusation: “As we were walking in the garden alone, this woman entered with two girls and shut the doors of the garden, dismissing the girls. A young man, who was hidden there, came and lay with her. When we, in a corner of the garden, saw this crime, we ran toward them. We saw them lying together, but the man we could not hold, because he was stronger than we; he opened the doors and ran off. Then we seized her and asked who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. We testify to this.” The assembly believed them, since they were elders and judges of the people, and they condemned her to death. But Susanna cried aloud: “O eternal God, you know what is hidden and are aware of all things before they come to be: you know that they have testified falsely against me. Here I am about to die, though I have done none of the things with which these wicked men have charged me.” The Lord heard her prayer. As she was being led to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young boy named Daniel, and he cried aloud: “I will have no part in the death of this woman.” All the people turned and asked him, “What is this you are saying?” He stood in their midst and continued, “Are you such fools, O children of Israel! To condemn a woman of Israel without examination and without clear evidence? Return to court, for they have testified falsely against her.” Then all the people returned in haste. To Daniel the elders said, “Come, sit with us and inform us, since God has given you the prestige of old age.” But he replied, “Separate these two far from each other that I may examine them.” After they were separated one from the other, he called one of them and said: “How you have grown evil with age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty, although the Lord says, ‘The innocent and the just you shall not put to death.’ Now, then, if you were a witness, tell me under what tree you saw them together.” “Under a mastic tree,” he answered. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you your head, for the angel of God shall receive the sentence from him and split you in two.” Putting him to one side, he ordered the other one to be brought. Daniel said to him, “Offspring of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has subverted your conscience. This is how you acted with the daughters of Israel, and in their fear they yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your wickedness. Now, then, tell me under what tree you surprised them together.” “Under an oak,” he said. Daniel replied, “Your fine lie has cost you also your head, for the angel of God waits with a sword to cut you in two so as to make an end of you both.” The whole assembly cried aloud, blessing God who saves those who hope in him. They rose up against the two elders, for by their own words Daniel had convicted them of perjury. According to the law of Moses, they inflicted on them the penalty they had plotted to impose on their neighbour: they put them to death. Thus was innocent blood spared that day.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

R. (4ab) Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose;

Beside restful waters he leads me;

he refreshes my soul. R.

He guides me in right paths

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk in the dark valley

I fear no evil; for you are at my side

With your rod and your staff

that give me courage. R.

You spread the table before me

in the sight of my foes;

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows. R.

Only goodness and kindness follow me

all the days of my life;

And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD

for years to come. R.

Gospel Acclamation: Ezekiel 33:11

Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord,

but rather in his conversion, that he may live.

Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ!

Gospel: John 8:1-11

Then each went to his own house, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. 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. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more.”

Commentary

The stories of both Susanna and the adulterous woman, powerful expressions of justice and divine mercy, have had a troubled textual history. The Susanna story from the Book of Daniel has come to us only in its Greek translation. On the other hand, the adulterous woman narrative has some questions from biblical experts.

That having been said, the narratives and their teaching remain perennially strong. The false accusations made against Susanna are overturned by the prophetic insight of the young Daniel. Her accusers are found guilty of slander, and she is completely exonerated.

The story of the sinful woman of the Gospel leaves no doubt about her guilt or the malice of her accusers. The question posed to Jesus was more entrapment than a hoped-for sentence of death, since evidence indicates that the Jews in Roman times had no authority to render a death sentence. Note, however, Jesus rescinds from the question of guilt or innocence. Was there a guiltless person in his audience who was in a position to move against the woman? One by one they take their leave. Left alone with the woman, Jesus sends her away in peace and exhorts her to sin no more.

Forgiveness lies at the very center of Christ’s mission. For this he came into the world, to lift the sentence that lay upon us. It is this sense of forgiveness that permeates the whole of his mission, and he clearly indicates that his followers are to be like-minded. Forgive not seven times but seventy times seven.

As Holy Week approaches, we are again reminded of the price of our exoneration. Regardless of the sin, forgiveness is ours for the asking. We are now called to extend that same spirit to others.

Intercessions

Martha said: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”. Lord, make us aware that you are with us here and calling us to life. We pray: Son of the living God, give us life.

• Lord, give new life to your Church and give it courage, that a better Church may be born through the testing pains of renewal, we pray:

• Lord, pour out your life richly and deeply in adults and children preparing for baptism, that they may live close to you, we pray:

• Lord, sustain old people and the dying in the hope that they will rise in you, that they may entrust themselves to you in all serenity and with deep faith, we pray:

• Lord, keep inspiring with the value and the dignity of life those who suffer, the victims of injustice and misfortune, that they may not give up on life, we pray:

• Lord, look on our Christians community. Make us appreciate life as a gift and a task, so that we can use all our potentials to make it rich and full for others and for ourselves, we pray:

Lord Jesus, raise us up above our petty self-sufficiency to a hope stronger than death. Stay with us, now and for ever. Amen!

Prayer over the Gifts

God, our Father,

your Son, Jesus, has given meaning

to death as well as to life.

In his own body,

he experienced our sufferings, with our joys

and died our death

as an offering to you and to us.

As we join him in his sacrifice,

help us to bear with him

the burdens of our brothers and sisters,