Forgiveness

     Today in church the Gospel reading was the passage about the woman taken in adultery. The scribes and Pharisees point out that the law says she should be stoned and ask Jesus what he says about it. And he says, "Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone," and they all gradually go away.

     As usual, the homily was mainly about the fact that we are all sinners. And this is an important point. It is easy for us to deny that what we are doing is wrong, even when it is. To deny that we have committed that sin, to deny that it is a sin, or even to deny that there is any such thing as sin. So we need to be reminded that we are sinners, as much as the ones we think of as sinners.

     But I found myself wishing that the homily had something also about the fact that Jesus did not condemn her. He told her not to sin any more, but he did not condemn her. Once we realize we are sinners, the most important thing is to realize that forgiveness is there for the taking.