REMINDER: During Lent, the “3 Minutes for Abba” are connected to the meditation for each day and, at times, can only be understood in that context. They are often a kind of personal dialogue with God the Father on the theme of the daily meditation (https://en.elijamission.net/).
Beloved Father, with what wisdom Your Son faced the difficult situation in which the Pharisees and scribes placed Him when they brought Him the woman caught in adultery in order to find something to accuse Him of (cf. Jn 8:1–11)! Not only did You frustrate their intentions, but at the same time You took pity on the sinful woman and showed her the way she should go. We can hope that Your Son’s words led some of the religious leaders to reflect, because, in truth, who is free from sin?
We do not know if that happened, but we do know for certain that You left those who listened to You with a wonderful lesson on how to deal with the guilt of others. The Church teaches us to condemn sin but to be merciful toward the sinner. This is precisely what we see in Your Son’s encounter with that woman.
It was also infinitely wise to make us see that, before accusing, we must examine ourselves and ask whether we are in a position to judge and condemn others.
If we put this teaching into practice, we will be able to call sin by its name and, at the same time, show people the way to freedom through Your merciful love. What liberation we experience when we do not assume the role of either the “accuser” or the “relativizer,” who acts as if sin were hardly serious!
Thank You, beloved Father, for all Your teachings!