Fifth Sunday of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

The tone of the entire fifth week of Lent is set in the entrance antiphon of this Sunday’s liturgy. “Give me justice, O God, and plead my cause against a nation that is faithless. From the deceitful and cunning, rescue me, for you, O God, are my strength” (Cf. Ps 42: 1-2). In today’s Gospel and in the Gospels throughout the coming week, we see the scribes and Pharisees attempting to set cunning traps to ensnare Jesus by finding fault with his words or actions. This antiphon is Jesus’s fervent prayer to his Father for strength in dealing with a faithless generation. Indeed, his prayer is heard. The religious leaders test Jesus by bringing forth a woman caught in adultery and seeking his opinion on what ought to be done with her. Stone her, as the law commands? Jesus foils their plot by turning their question into an unavoidable snare: “Let one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:5). Jesus’ words to the woman (who is now alone because the elders have all walked away in shame) express the abundance of God’s infinite love and mercy: “Has no one condemned you, woman? … Neither shall I condemn you….” This text from Jn 8:10-11 is also today’s communion antiphon.

In the first reading from Is 43:16-21, Isaiah recounts the greatness of our Loving God who freed his chosen ones from the prison of Egypt, safely guided them through the Red Sea, and subdued their pursuers. In the same way, he freed Jesus from the snares of the scribes and Pharisees and he will free us as well from the net of sin if we but turn to him. In the words of the verse before the Gospel (Jl 2:12-13), “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart; for I am gracious and merciful.” The response to the first reading is our expression of gratitude for our deliverance from the snares of the enemy: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy” (Ps 126:3).

St. Paul takes the Gospel message a step further. “I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law [as the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel insisted] but that which comes through faith in Christ” (Phil 3:8-9). It is by conforming ourselves to Christ—by taking on his mindset, by sharing in his sufferings, and by showing the same mercy and love he demonstrated to others—that “I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” Let us, with St. Paul strain forward to what lies ahead and continue our pursuit of the goal, “the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.”

Prayer for Today: O God of Love, you bestow upon us unimaginable mercy and compassion. Help me to take on the mind of your Son, Jesus, and show that same mercy and love to all my brothers and sisters.

Reflection by Br. Michael Marcotte, OSB