22 March 2021

by

Monday, 22 March 2021 : 5th Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scripture, we are reminded of the dangers of sin and the need for us to resist the temptations to sin and to indulge in various human desires. We need to learn from what we have heard in our Scripture readings today so that we may become truly better Christians in all things, in words and deeds, as well as in our everyday living, becoming good examples for one another in faith.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of Daniel, the prophet of Israel in exile in Babylon who witnessed the unjust persecution and false accusation by two elders against Susanna, a faithful and righteous woman who was wrongly accused of adultery and sin against God when it was actually the two elders themselves who disobeyed the Lord and sinned because of their lust and their inability to hold that lust in check, leading to their downfall.

The two elders tried to abuse their position and power, the prestige and respect they had in the society of the Israelite exiles at the time to give them strong leverage over Susanna, who however refused to give in to their demands. It was quite obvious from what we have heard that the two men were quite set in following their desires and lust, and not only that they planned everything well, but from their threat to Susanna, they were in fact proud and filled with ego, thinking that they could not be persecuted for what they were about to do.

Not only that, but when they failed to get Susanna to bend to their will and do what they wanted, they were then dead set in trying to get her condemned to death, again using their position wrongly to gain for their own self-benefits. They almost succeeded in doing so if not for the Lord intervening through Daniel, as God awakened the Spirit in Daniel and gave him the wisdom and guidance to do what was right, and prevent the suffering and death of the innocent.

Through all of that, Daniel wisely managed to get the two elders to confess their own sins before the assembled public by making everyone to hear from their own mouths, their incoherent and inconsistent testimony, which meant that Susanna was saying the truth, and was innocent, while it was the two elders themselves who were at fault and should have been punished with whatever they had intended to punish Susanna with.

In the Gospel passage today, we then heard of the well-known story of the Lord Jesus forgiving the woman caught in the act of adultery, in which the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law wanted to test and see the Lord’s response to how they accused the woman caught in the act of adultery, hoping to catch Him off-guard and fumbling, and thus giving them the ground and evidence to either discredit Him or to persecute Him.

Had the Lord said that the woman should have been stoned to death as per the Jewish law, then the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law could have just benefitted by saying that the Lord was no different from them, or that He was just merely agreeing to what they themselves had taught, therefore discrediting Him in the eyes of others. On the other hand, had the Lord told them to release the woman, they could then charge Him on the accusation of siding with sinners and disobeying the Law.

Instead, as we know, the Lord wisely and carefully avoid all of those by simply saying that those who were without sin ought to cast the first stone, which had an almost immediate effect on the assembled people, making them aware of their own sins and disobedience against God, as was evident how the people began to leave one by one, starting from the eldest ones, as those were the ones who have lived the longest and were likely to have committed the most sins in their lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what we have heard in our Scripture passages today, and we are reminded therefore that first of all, we are all sinners before God, and we are people who are easily tempted by the temptations to sin, in which today we had the emphasis on the sin of lust as showed by the two elders and also by the woman who was caught in the act of adultery. In comparing these two cases, the Lord wanted us to see that sin is truly dangerous and is something that can indeed bring us to our downfall if we are not careful.

Yes, as we heard, the desire to sin and our vulnerability to it, and if we succumb to those temptations, we will end up falling further and further into the trap of sin, as the two elders story had shown us. They committed more sins to protect themselves and doubled down on their mistakes just so that their earlier sins would not be discovered. Sin is something that we must be very careful with, and we cannot allow ourselves to be overcome by it.

But at the same time, through our Gospel, we are also reminded of the powerful healing from God, Who alone can heal us from our sins. And most importantly, because He loves each one of us dearly, He is truly willing to forgive all of us our sins, and be reconciled with us. He does not want to condemn us, and He does not desire our destruction, unless it is we ourselves who desire it, by continuing to live in sin and rejecting His most generous offers of mercy.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all turn towards the Lord today with a renewed faith and love for Him, and let us all listen to the Lord when He said that, ‘Go and sin no more’, that we may lead a virtuous life from now on, free from sin and evil, exemplary in our lives, our actions, words and deeds, in obedience to God from now on. May God be with us always throughout our journey of faith and life, and may He strengthen us with the courage to live ever more faithfully in each and every moments of our lives. Amen.

by

Monday, 22 March 2021 : 5th Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

John 8 : 1-11

At that time, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak He appeared in the Temple again. All the people came to Jesus, and He sat down and began to teach them. Then the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They made her stand in front of everyone.

“Master,” they said, “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now the Law of Moses orders that such women be stoned to death; but You, what do You say?” They said this to test Jesus, in order to have some charge against Him. Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with His finger. And as they continued to ask Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who has no sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And He bent down again, writing on the ground.

As a result of these words, they went away, one by one, starting with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Then Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go away and do not sin again.”

by

Monday, 22 March 2021 : 5th Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 22 : 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He guides me through the right paths for His Name’s sake. Although I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are beside me : Your rod and Your staff comfort me.

You spread a table before me in the presence of my foes. You anoint my head with oil; my cup is overflowing.

Goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

by

Monday, 22 March 2021 : 5th Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

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

There lived in Babylon a man named Joakim, who was married to a very beautiful God-fearing woman, Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter, whose pious parents had trained her in the law of Moses. A very rich man and greatly respected by all the Jews, Joakim was frequently visited by the Jews in his house adjoining a garden.

That year, two elders of the people were appointed judges, in whom this word of the Lord became true, “Wickedness has come forth from Babylon, through the elders appointed judges, who were supposed to govern the people.” These men frequented Joakim’s house, and all who had legal disputes used to come to them.

After the people had left at noon, Susanna would go into her husband’s garden for a walk. The two old men began to lust for her as they watched her enter the garden every day. Forgetting the demands of justice and virtue, their lust grew all the more as they made no effort to turn their eyes to heaven.

One day, as they were waiting for an opportune time, Susanna entered the garden as usual with only two maids. She decided to bathe, for it was a hot day. Nobody else was there except the two elders watching her from where they had hidden themselves. She said to the maids, “Bring me oil and ointments, and shut the garden doors while I bathe.”

When the maids had left, the two elders hurried to her and said, “Look, the garden doors are shut and no one sees us. We desire to posses you. If you refuse to give in, we will testify that you sent your maids away for there was a young man here with you.” Susanna moaned, “Whatever I do, I am trapped. If I give in to your desire, it will be death for me; if I refuse, I will not escape your persecution. I would rather be persecuted than sin in the eyes of the Lord.”

Susanna shrieked, but the old men shouted, putting the blame on her. One of them ran and opened the garden doors. Hearing the noise in the garden, the household servants rushed in by the side entrance to see what was happening. They were taken aback when they heard the elders’ accusation, for never had anything like this been said of Susanna.

The next day a meeting was held at Joakim’s house. The two elders arrived, vindictively determined to have Susanna sentenced to death. They ordered before all the people, “Send for Susanna, Hilkiah’s daughter and Joakim’s wife.” They sent for her, and she came with her parents, children and all her relatives. Her family and all who saw her wept.

The two elders stood up and laid their hands upon her head. Completely trusting in the Lord, she raised her tearful eyes to heaven. The elders started making their accusation, “We were taking a walk in the garden when this woman came in with two maids. She ordered them to shut the garden doors and dismissed them. Then a young man came out of hiding and lay with her. We were in a corner in the garden, and we saw this crime from there.”

“We ran to them, and caught them in the act of embracing. We were unable to take hold of the man. He was too strong for us. He made a dash for the door, opened it and ran off. But we were able to seize this woman. We asked her who the young man was, but she refused to tell us. This is our statement, and we testify to its truth.”

The assembly took their word, since they were elders and judges of the people. Susanna was condemned to death. She cried aloud, “Eternal God, nothing is hidden from You; You know all things before they come to be. You know that these men have testified falsely against me. Would You let me die, though I am not guilty of all their malicious charges?”

The Lord heard her, and as she was being led to her execution, God aroused the Holy Spirit residing in a young lad named Daniel. He shouted, “I will have no part in the death of this woman!” Those present turned to him, “What did you say?” they all asked.

Standing in their midst, he said to them, “Have you become fools, you Israelites, to condemn a daughter of Israel without due process and in the absence of clear evidence? Return to court, for those men have falsely testified against her.” Hurriedly they returned, and the elders said to Daniel, “Come and sit with us, for you also possess the gifts bestowed by God upon the elders.”

Daniel said to the people, “Separate these two men from one another and I will examine each of them.” When the two elders were separated from each other, Daniel called one of them and said, “How wicked you have grown with age. Your sins of earlier days have piled up against you, and now is the time of reckoning.”

“Remember how you have passed unjust sentences, condemning the innocent and freeing the guilty, although the Lord has said, ‘The innocent and the just should not be put to death.’ Now, if you really witnessed the crime, under what tree did you see them do it?”

The elder answered, “Under a mastic tree.” Daniel said, “Your lie will cost you your head. You will be cut in two, as soon as the Lord’s Angel receives your sentence from God.” Putting the first one aside, Daniel called the other elder and said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, you have long allowed yourself to be perverted by lust.”

“This is how you have dealt with the daughters of Israel, who out of fear have yielded to you. But here is a daughter of Judah who would not tolerate your wickedness. Tell me then, under what tree did you catch them committing the crime?”

The answer came, “Under an oak.” “Your lie has also cost you your head,” Daniel said. “God’s Angel waits to cut you both in two.” The whole assembly shouted and blessed God for helping those who hope in Him. They turned against the two elders who, through Daniel’s efforts, had been convicted by their own mouths. In accordance with Moses’ law, the penalty the two elders had intended to impose upon their neighbour was inflicted upon them. They were sentenced to death. Thus was the life of an innocent woman spared that day.

Alternative reading (shorter version)

Daniel 13 : 41c-62

Susanna was condemned to death. She cried aloud, “Eternal God, nothing is hidden from You; You know all things before they come to be. You know that these men have testified falsely against me. Would You let me die, though I am not guilty of all their malicious charges?”

The Lord heard her, and as she was being led to her execution, God aroused the Holy Spirit residing in a young lad named Daniel. He shouted, “I will have no part in the death of this woman!” Those present turned to him, “What did you say?” they all asked.

Standing in their midst, he said to them, “Have you become fools, you Israelites, to condemn a daughter of Israel without due process and in the absence of clear evidence? Return to court, for those men have falsely testified against her.” Hurriedly they returned, and the elders said to Daniel, “Come and sit with us, for you also possess the gifts bestowed by God upon the elders.”

Daniel said to the people, “Separate these two men from one another and I will examine each of them.” When the two elders were separated from each other, Daniel called one of them and said, “How wicked you have grown with age. Your sins of earlier days have piled up against you, and now is the time of reckoning.”

“Remember how you have passed unjust sentences, condemning the innocent and freeing the guilty, although the Lord has said, ‘The innocent and the just should not be put to death.’ Now, if you really witnessed the crime, under what tree did you see them do it?”

The elder answered, “Under a mastic tree.” Daniel said, “Your lie will cost you your head. You will be cut in two, as soon as the Lord’s Angel receives your sentence from God.” Putting the first one aside, Daniel called the other elder and said to him, “You offspring of Canaan and not of Judah, you have long allowed yourself to be perverted by lust.”

“This is how you have dealt with the daughters of Israel, who out of fear have yielded to you. But here is a daughter of Judah who would not tolerate your wickedness. Tell me then, under what tree did you catch them committing the crime?”

The answer came, “Under an oak.” “Your lie has also cost you your head,” Daniel said. “God’s Angel waits to cut you both in two.” The whole assembly shouted and blessed God for helping those who hope in Him. They turned against the two elders who, through Daniel’s efforts, had been convicted by their own mouths. In accordance with Moses’ law, the penalty the two elders had intended to impose upon their neighbour was inflicted upon them. They were sentenced to death. Thus was the life of an innocent woman spared that day.