HOMILY XX. ON THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT.
JOHN. VIII. At that time Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, and early in the morning he again went to the temple, and all the people came to him, and sitting down, he taught them.
We must consider this reading from the holy Gospel with great attention, dearest brothers, and always remember how greatly it commends the grace of our Creator to us. Behold, as we have heard, when the impious accusers brought before him a sinful woman, instead of immediately stoning her as prescribed by the law, he first instructed the accusers to consider themselves, and then to give a judgment against the sinner, so that by recognizing their own fragility, they might understand how they ought to show mercy to others. But since it is customary in the Scriptures for some things to be expressed from the state of time, others from the state of place, and others from both, the Evangelist, about to relate the tempering of the law's strictness by the mercy of the Redeemer, first stated that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, and early in the morning he again went to the temple. Indeed, the Mount of Olives signifies the height of the Lord’s piety and mercy because in Greek, olive means mercy, and an olive grove is called oleon, and the very anointing of oil used to bring relief to weary and aching limbs. Likewise, because oil both surpasses in strength and purity, and whatever liquid you pour upon it, it immediately repels and rises above it, it not inappropriately symbolizes the grace of heavenly mercy, of which it is written, "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works" (Ps. 144). The time of early morning also indicates the rise of this same grace, by which the shadow of the law being removed, the light of evangelical truth was to be revealed. Therefore, Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives to declare that the citadel of mercy consists in him; he then comes again early in the morning to the temple, to signify that this same mercy was to be dispensed and offered to the faithful with the dawning light of the New Testament, namely in his temple.
And all the people came to him, and sitting, he taught them. The sitting of the Lord indicates the humility of his incarnation, for which he deigned to have mercy on us; hence it is also commanded to us: Arise after you have sat down (Psalm 126), as if it is said openly: Not before, but after you have humbled yourselves truly, hope to receive the reward of heavenly exaltation. It is well said that when Jesus taught sitting, all the people came to him: because after he became close to humans by the humility of his incarnation, his word was more willingly received by many: by many, I say, his word was received, for it was scorned by many with proud impiety. For the meek heard and rejoiced, magnifying the Lord with the Psalmist, and exalting his name together. The envious heard, and were dissolved, but they were not pierced; they tested him and mocked him, gnashing their teeth at him in derision. Thus, testing him, they brought a woman caught in adultery, asking what he would command to be done to her; because Moses had ordered such a one to be stoned, so that if he too decided that she should be stoned, they would mock him as though he had forgotten the mercy he always taught; if he forbade stoning, they would gnash their teeth at him and condemn him as a supporter of crimes and as contrary to the law, as though deservedly. But far be it that earthly foolishness should find what to say, and heavenly wisdom should lack what to answer. Far be it that the blind justice fulfilled should resist so that the sun of justice would not shine over the world.
But Jesus, bending down, wrote on the ground with his finger. Through Jesus' inclination, humility is expressed; through the finger, which is flexible due to the joints' arrangement, subtlety of discernment is expressed; moreover, the ground signifies the human heart, which is accustomed to yielding the fruits of either good or evil actions. Therefore, when the Lord was asked to judge the adulteress, he did not immediately give a judgment, but first, bending down, he wrote on the ground with his finger, and only afterward, because he is earnestly asked, does he judge: teaching us symbolically that when we see any errors of our neighbors, we should not immediately judge by condemning them, but first, humbly returning to our conscience, we should skillfully carve it with the finger of discernment, and diligently weigh what is pleasing or displeasing to our Creator in it, according to the Apostle's statement, "Brothers, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted" (Galatians 6).
But when they persisted in questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Because on this side and on that the Scribes and Pharisees were laying snares of traps for the Lord, thinking He would either be unmerciful in judging or unjust: He, foreseeing their deceits, as if passing through the threads of a spider’s web, and showing the judgment of justice in all things, and the gentleness of mercy: it was fulfilled in them that which we have said of the Psalmist, that they were dissolved, and were not pricked at heart (Psalm 35). They were dissolved, indeed because they could not trap the Lord in their snares; nor were they pricked at heart to follow Him in the duties of love. Do you want to hear the temperance of mercy? "Let him who is without sin among you." Do you want again to hear the justice of judging? "Let him be the first to throw a stone at her." If Moses, he says, commanded you to stone such a woman, see that it was not sinners but the just whom he ordered to do this. First, fulfill the justice of the law yourselves, and so, innocent in hands and pure in heart, go forth to stone the guilty. First, perfect the spiritual edicts of the law—faith, mercy, and love—and then divert to judging the carnal.
Having given judgment, the Lord again bent down and wrote on the ground. Indeed, according to the custom of human practice, it can be understood that the Lord wished to bend down and write on the ground before the wicked tempters, so that by turning His face elsewhere, He might give them the free will to leave, whom He had foreseen would depart more quickly struck by His response rather than were He to question them further.
Finally, hearing this, they went out one by one, starting with the eldest. He symbolically reminds us in that which he, before and after pronouncing judgment, bends down and writes on the ground, that before we rebuke a sinning neighbor and after we have given the duty of rightful chastisement, we should examine ourselves with a worthy investigator of humility, lest perhaps we be entangled in the same offenses which we reprehend in them, or in other offenses whatsoever. For it often happens that those who judge a murderer for publicly sinning, do not feel the worse evil of hatred by which they are devoured in secret; those who accuse a fornicator, do not understand the plague of pride by which they are exalted about their own chastity; those who condemn a drunkard, do not see the venom of envy by which they themselves are consumed. What remedy, therefore, remains for us in such dangers, what means of salvation? Except that when we see another sinning, we immediately bow down, that is, humbly recognize how low we are, based on the frailty of our condition, if divine mercy does not sustain us. Let us write with our finger on the ground, that is, accurately deliberate with judgment whether we can say with blessed Job, “for neither does our heart reproach us in our whole life” (Job 27); and remember diligently that if our heart reproaches us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. We can also rightly understand that the Lord, about to grant forgiveness to the sinner, wants to write on the ground with his finger to show that He is the same one who once wrote the Decalogue on stone with his finger, that is, with the work of the Holy Spirit. And well was the law written on stone, which was given to subdue the hearts of a hard and stubborn people. Well did the Lord write on the ground, about to grant the grace of remission to the contrite and humble of heart, who could bear the fruit of salvation. Well did He bend down and write on the ground with His finger, who once showing Himself high on the mountain wrote with His finger on the stone, because through the humbling undertaken in humanity, He infused the Spirit of grace into the fruitful hearts of the faithful, who once appearing exalted in an angel, gave hard commands to hard peoples. Well He who bent down to write on the ground, stood up to proclaim words of mercy, because what He promised through the companionship of human infirmity, by the power of divine virtue He bestowed upon men the gift of piety.
Rising up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they who accused you? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." No one dared to condemn the sinner, because each one had begun to see in themselves what they recognized should be more condemned. But let us see with what gift of mercy He, who drove away the crowd of accusers by the weight of justice, lifts up the accused. Thus:
Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on sin no more." Here is fulfilled the sentence of the Psalmist, who sings in the praises of the Lord: "Prosper and reign, because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and your right hand shall guide you wondrously" (Psalm 45). For He reigns for the sake of truth, because by preaching the way of truth to the world, He enlarges the glory of His kingdom to the multitude of believers. He reigns for the sake of meekness and righteousness, because more people subject themselves to His kingdom because they know Him to be meek in liberating those repenting of sin, and just in condemning the stubborn for sin: meek in granting the grace of faith and heavenly virtues, just in rendering an eternal reward for the struggle of faith and heavenly virtues. His right hand guided Him wondrously, because God dwelling in a man showed Him to be wondrous in all He did and taught; but He always showed Himself to lead with wondrous prudence against the traps that the cunning enemies could devise. Neither do I, investigate, condemn you. Go, and sin no more with contradictions. Since He is merciful and gracious and loves righteousness, He forbids sinning further. However, because some might doubt whether Jesus, whom they knew to be truly man, could forgive sins, He deigns to show more openly that He divinely holds this power. For after repelling the wickedness of the tempters, after loosing the guilt of the sinner, He speaks to them again saying:
I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Where it clearly teaches, not only by what authority he forgave the sins of the woman; but also what he figuratively expressed by going up to the Mount of Olives, by coming again to the temple at dawn, by writing on the ground with his finger: namely that he is the citadel of mercies, and the God of all consolation, at once the herald and bestower of unending light, the giver of the law and of grace. I am, he says, the light of the world. As if he were openly saying: I am the true light, which illuminates every man coming into the world: I am the sun of righteousness who rises for those who fear God, though I seem to be covered for a time by the cloud of flesh. For I am covered by the cloud of flesh, not to be hidden from those who seek, but to be tempered for the weak. Let them heal the eyes of their mind, let them purify their hearts with faith, so that they may deserve to see me: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Mt. V).
Who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Whoever now obeys my commands and examples will not fear the future darkness of damnation, but rather will have the light of life, where he will never die at all, by nature. Therefore, let us follow, brothers, now the light of righteousness by faith which works through love, so that we may then be worthy to attain it by sight, which the merit of love both rewards and adds, attesting himself, who said: But whoever loves me, will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him (John XIV). Let us come with all attentive mind to him who has a place on the invisible Mount of Olives: for God, his God, anointed him with the oil of gladness above his companions, so that he may also deem us worthy to be partakers of the same anointing, that is, of spiritual grace. This we will indeed not deserve to attain any other way than by loving justice and hating iniquity.For also concerning him, the Psalm which speaks of these things preceded: You have loved righteousness and hated iniquity (Ps. XLIV), so that by proclaiming the glory of the head, he might show how the members should conduct themselves to pertain to this. Let us remember that he himself came to the temple at dawn, and while teaching, absolved the sinner from guilt, and let us strive to be a temple of our Creator, let us strive to advance in the light of virtues by dispelling the darkness of vices, so that even our hearts may be visited by the Lord, that he may instruct us with heavenly disciplines, and deign immediately to cleanse whatever he finds filthy in us, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages.