Ti Biag ken Pammati
“Life and Faith”
Fifth Sunday of Lent
Deacon Patrick Constantino | Photos courtesy Patrick Constantino
In our world today, we face many problems. We must use God in our decision-making. Only God can help us! But we must believe in Him and let Him help us.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (8:1–11).
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning, he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again, he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, Sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!
In today’s Gospel the scribes and Pharisees again tried to put Jesus in a spot. They brought a women caught in the act of adultery. They asked Jesus to decide whether to throw stones at her or not. During that time, it was a big thing in Israel. It still is, but not necessarily for adultery. In the days of our Lord, that was the Law. You know how it turned out. Jesus simply said, “Let the man among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” And while he was busy tracing or writing in the sand with his finger, they all did a disappearing act. That left Jesus and the woman by themselves. And Jesus told her to go on her way, giving her the admonition, “From now on, avoid this sin.”
We might think that was a very minor infringement of the law and might even think it was a rather ridiculous law. Adultery today seems to be a regular part of life. It certainly is an essential part of every soap opera and mini-series on television. And if we can believe statistics, more than half of our married population engages in it. If those statistics are right, and if there were still a law demanding execution for anyone committing adultery, that surely would take care of the world’s population problem.
For the record, though, I would like to remind you. Adultery is a serious sin! But that is not the point of our Gospel story, is it? Then what is the point? Simply this: We have all sinned, we are all guilty of something or other, we all deserve to go to hell. Who are you, who am I, to throw stones at anyone else? When we do so, could it possibly be to take attention off ourselves and our own sins? Or is our real sin contained in this—our blindness in thinking we are good and right while others are bad and wrong?
Capital punishment is a big controversy these days. Many people are against it, many are for it. Unending arguments are expounded by both sides. What do you think Jesus Christ might say? “He who is without sin can be the one to pull the switch.”
Do you suppose anyone without sin can be found? Can anyone in the church today be found to pull that switch? Are you without sin? Am I? Is any prison warden without sin? Is the President of our country without sin? How about the Pope? Who is to pull that switch?
Jesus did not come to pull the switch on us. He did not come to pull the switch on anybody. And he tells us we do not have a license to do it either. Permission to execute anyone for anything is given only to those without sin. How so very many Christians and non-Christians are yelling for the heads of those they are unwilling to forgive and rehabilitate! How embarrassing this is to the Catholic Church and to Protestant denominations! Especially to those churches headed by advocates of capital punishment—the scribes and Pharisees of our century.
“What do you mean, Deacon? Are you saying we should let murderers, rapists, and terrorists run free? Won’t they just do the same things again?”
It is a problem, isn’t it? But I am not the one who says not to execute a person for breaking a law. But then, neither is Jesus. He simply says, “Let the person who is without sin execute them.” Which means, of course, no one in the whole wide world is qualified.
Society is left to figure out another solution, a much more humane, merciful, and loving solution. One directs love to both the victim and the criminal. And one looking after the welfare of others, that could also possibly become the criminal’s victims.
What did Jesus do about the sins of that woman caught in adultery? What did he do about our sins? He took the blame upon himself. And then let someone pull the switch on him and let someone crucify him on a cross. And that was to be the end of executions.
Jesus Christ forgave sinners by taking away from them their sins, placing them on himself, and allowing those same sinners to murder him. The woman caught in adultery, you and I, and every other sinner in the world murdered Jesus Christ! Are we going to continue doing it?
Jesus once said, “Whatever you do to others, you do to me.” When we pull the switch on anyone for any reason whatsoever, when we electrocute, gas or give someone the needle of death, are we not sinners executing a sinner? Are we not sinners killing Him who has taken our sins upon Himself? Are we not once again crucifying Jesus Christ? “Whatever you do to others, you do to me.”
As I have said, listening to Christ and doing as He said causes gigantic problems. It adds tremendous difficulty to our lives. It might even make us victims of those we try to forgive and rehabilitate. It might crucify us like it did to Christ. The question for each of us to ask himself/herself is this: “Do I really try to walk in the footsteps of Christ, or don’t I?” “Whoever is without sin may cast the first stone.” “Whatever you do to others, you do to me.”
Those are not my words. Those are words of Christ, the words of God. Walking in God’s footsteps is a challenging journey. If we want to be with Him in paradise, we must walk the walk and talk the talk! Jesus, I trust in You! Amen!
Deacon Patrick Constantino retired from active Ministry on July 1, 2022. He is still a Deacon in good standing with full faculties to perform all sacraments in the Diocesan of Honolulu Hawai‘i. Constantino has been ordained for thirty-seven years. He is the first Filipino Deacon in the Diocesan of Honolulu. Prior to his ordination, Constantino was in government—first appointed in 1966 as Assistant Sergeant of Arms by the Speaker of the House Elmer F. Cravalho. When Cravalho became Maui’s first Mayor, Constantino became his Executive Assistant—the first of Filipino ancestry. Later, Constantino became the first County Treasurer of Filipino ancestry and the first County Grants Administrator and Risk Manager of Filipino ancestry. Constantino is married to his lovely wife Corazon for sixty-four years. They are blessed with four children, eleven grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren.