Neither Do I Condemn You

First published April 8, 2019 by Philip Cheung.

In the Gospel we are presented with the incident where a woman was caught in the very act of adultery, and the Pharisees have seized the woman and is about to carry out the consequence that such an act warranted: stoning. In an attempt to test Jesus, they asked Him what they should should do for the Law of Moses said to stone her. Jesus' initial response was silence.

I love this silence. Oftentimes it is the silence that speaks the loudest. Think about it. What could the Pharisees have been thinking: "why isn't He saying anything...?" Then Jesus bends down and begins to write something with his finger on the ground. Scripture doesn't tell us what He writes. The people couldn't deal with the silence so they asked the question again and Jesus said, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." What a statement. The people began to gradually disappear one after another. Soon, it was just Jesus and the woman. Jesus asked the woman where the people were and if anyone threw a stone at her in condemnation of her. She said "No one, sir." Then Jesus said these words of love and invitation to her: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."

In loving her, Jesus does not condemn her but affirms her belovedness. In challenging her, Jesus invites the woman to a new way of life. Every encounter with God is similar: we are always reminded of and affirmed in our belovedness - the Father says to us: "You are my beloved son/daughter" - and we are also challenged to be better, to live radically, to embrace the Truth, and to share this with others. When we feel shameful and guilty and embarrassed by our sinfulness and mistakes, God does not look at us in condemnation. Rather, he lowers Himself to us, meeting us where we are, telling us that He loves us, and then raises us up with Him. Today, God is saying the very same thing to you: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."

Let us ask the Father for the grace of trust in God's love for us and the courage to live an authentic life of freedom.

Not Yet the Hour

“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.”

Psalm 34:19-20

How true is it that the good suffer while the evil seemingly thrive and succeed. Perhaps we have seen this in the world around us or maybe even in our own personal lives. But the Lord reminds us that He is close to the brokenhearted and that although the just man has many troubles, from them all the Lord will deliver him. The Lord will, but perhaps not now because it may not yet be the hour.

It may be difficult to handle and endure when suffering comes our way. There may be a tremendous feeling of injustice especially when we are wronged and accused of something we may not have done. Or maybe our good intentions were twisted into something perverted or evil. We can never fully understand another person’s heart, for only God knows. But we must remember that the Lord is close to us. He is close to the brokenhearted and He will not allow us to go down in defeat. To the world, Jesus seemed to have lost the battle He was fighting. But little did they know that life would forever be changed. Life will no longer end in death, but rather in a life that will never end. Suffering, if united to Christ’s, will always bring about good fruit.

Brothers and sisters, if you are this moment suffering know that you are not alone. Remember that the Lord too suffered immensely, unjustly, but willingly. He endured the suffering because He knew that the Father will not let the suffering be in vain. He knew that the Father had a much bigger plan. So too is the same for us. We may need to continue to suffer for a while, for it might not yet be the hour from which we will be delivered from our sufferings and troubles. While we endure, we must offer it up, asking the Lord to grant us the wisdom to learn from it and also praying for those who may be inflicting this pain upon us. Have faith that the Lord is trustworthy, derive hope from His suffering, and know that His love prevails.

Steadfast Love

“Can a mother forget her infant,
be without tenderness for the child of her womb?
Even should she forget,
I will never forget you.”

Isaiah 49:15

Have you ever felt all alone or maybe as if no one understands you, not even your closest friend or family member? Have you ever felt abandoned and unwanted? Perhaps everyone goes through some moments in their lives when they experience loneliness and abandonment to different degrees. The Israelites whom the Lord freed from slavery to the Egyptians found themselves in cycles of sin and reconciliation while in the wilderness and in the land promised to them, and because of their own choices they fell to the Babylonians and went into captivity. There they felt abandoned and forgotten by God. But we know that can’t be the case.

God never abandons His people, but He may at times permit us to feel His absence. The Israelites fell to the Babylonians because of their reckless decisions in putting their trust and faith in other peoples instead of in God. They made the wrong pacts, forgetting their covenant with God, the only One who could save them. The verses above were spoken to the people while they were in exile in Babylon. This was the response of God when the people has said God has forgotten them. “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you” (Isaiah 49:15). Just as a mother could not forget her child, neither could God. But even if the mother did, God said He would never forget that child. God never forgets you.

Brothers and sisters, sometimes in life and in our spiritual lives we may feel as if God has forgotten us, especially when everything seems to be going wrong — losing our jobs, broken relationships, financial troubles, unexpected deaths, terminal illnesses, natural disasters, mental distress, etc. When we are tempted to wallow in those moments, let us find the courage to recall the times when we have strongly felt God’s presence and protection, and allow those moments to carry us back to the Lord. What God has done for us in the past, He will do for us again now and in the future.

Faith tells us that God will never abandon us, hope gives us the assurance that God is with us, and the love of God is what sustains us. We must hold fast to these three: faith, hope, and love. We are loved by God, and those whom He loves He will never forget for His love is eternal and steadfast. He has promised us this, and He who has promised us is trustworthy. God will never abandon us.