Praise God, Praise be to Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.
WE CAN ALL BE SAINTS. WE ARE PILGRIMS OF HOPE. WE ARE BELIEVERS. WE ARE SAINTS. We are all called to be holy; but, we must acknowledge we are sinners on a path toward eternity. We must admit the need for God’s mercy and that we need Jesus. And, God in his mercy and love makes a way.
I have had many people tell me that “God could never forgive them for the things they have done.” Those are words without hope. They are an excuse given for misery. They are an excuse for not coming to mass. Soon, they believe their excuse.
Every saint has a past and in Christ every sinner has a future. (Oscar Wilde) Friends we all have the capacity to become saints. No one is so good that he hasn’t failed at some point, and no one is so bad that he cannot be saved.
In our gospel today,
Jesus would show us that his mercy is greater than our sins.
The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been
caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. But they were not
really concerned about this woman. They were concerned on how to bring Jesus
down.
So they took advantage of the woman’s vulnerability and
weakness in order to further their self-interest and their plot to get rid of
Jesus.
They thought in their case about the woman Jesus would
certainly be trapped. If, Jesus gave either a “YES or NO;” they already have an
accusation against him.
If Jesus said “NO”, they would accuse him of breaking the
law of Moses which commanded that a woman committing the sin of adultery had to
be stoned to death. If He said “YES, stone her to death”, then they would
accuse him of not living out what he preached, (forgiving 70 times 7 times, or
that God is loving and forgiving God.”
If that would have been someone else there would probably be
no way out of that situation.
Jesus knew better. He could see the bigger picture. If the
path ended, Jesus blazes a new trail. By his answer, Jesus showed he is the Way.
By his answer, Jesus’ truth and holiness
was shown to be above the law.
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his
finger. The original Greek word used translates that Jesus was writing
accusation in the dirts. Instead of writing with a stick, he was pointing at
them with his finger.
Yet, they continued to ask. He stood up to answer them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Jesus does not only comfort the afflicted, he would also afflicts the comfortable.
Sometimes to become Saints, we have become uncomfortable. Paul
tells us that in his letter to the Philippians,
”For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I
consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not
having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes
through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God,… I continue my pursuit
toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.”
Never say, never let a friend say, “God will never forgive
me for the things I have done.” Those are words without hope. We are Pilgrims
of Hope. We bring that hope to many.
God tells us through the words of the prophet Isaiah, “Remember
not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see, I am
doing something new! “The Lord has done great things for me.
Friends, sinners we may be, but we have the capacity to become saints. Paul attest that with and through Jesus we can achieve this potential. “Holiness is a gift, sharing in Christ is utter trust.“
Every saint has a past, but in Christ every sinner has a
future. Friends we all have the capacity to become saints. Pilgrims of Hope on
our journey to eternity.
Can we all be saints? Yes, and that is the supreme
good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. We are pilgrims of hope. We are
believers.
Be good, be holy, and always preach the Gospel of God’s
mercy and hope by the way you live your life and love one another.
Praise God, Praise be to Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.
