The Gospel text of this Sunday is not referred to by all the codes, so much so that the Greek Fathers seem to ignore it. Truly the Lord is able to open a path in the sea of our sins and a path in the tangle of our prejudices and our hypocrisies that make us so sensitive to the shortcomings of others and so indulgent with our own. The apostle Paul goes so far as to speak of garbage to indicate everything that is opposed to the logic of mercy that allows every man and every woman – despite everything and through everything – to pursue the goal and win the reward of a redeemed life because it is accepted. . The serene and silent attitude of Jesus who wrote on the ground (perhaps referring to Job 13, 26 or Gr 17, 13) contrasts with the arrogance of the accusers and the unspoken terror of the accused. The Lord Jesus lowers himself and puts himself on the same level as the woman! To the disturbing seriousness of the accusers he contrasts an almost playful gesture – as a child – which reveals the true fault: lack of solidarity. Our journey towards the Passover of passion and resurrection now hastens its pace not only for the ritual celebration of the mysteries, but for the existential acceptance of the mystery of Christ in our life in order to conform to his posture of tenderness as the premise of every justice: go and from now on don’t sin anymore! Jesus writes on the ground in the dust. How can we forget the beginning of Lent when we received a pinch of ashes on our heads. The Pharisees want to apply the Law written with the finger of God on the stone tablets, while Jesus reminds us that this Law must be written in the heart of flesh reconciled with the dust of one’s own and others’ fragility.

Commentary by b. Michael David, osb Community of the Koinonia de la Visitation

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves, Prinknash Abbey