Growing up in an area where houses are open and narrow houses because they have no air conditioning or heat system since it’s a tropical climate, or rather, it’s a poor country and does not have enough land, I have learned a lot. One thing, as a child, I have learned that whenever a family in my neighborhood verbally fighting or even physically fighting, everyone in that neighborhood knows and comes over to check it out. Sadly, people in the neighborhood often come to see what’s going on and criticize or publicize the matter instead of coming to help.

In today’s Gospel, Saint John beautifully retold a story of a woman caught in adultery. Scribes and Pharisees brought her to Jesus to test him so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Other people just came along to check it out, or perhaps, to come to criticize or publicize the matter. They all had on their hands a stone ready to throw at the woman to death because of the law when she was caught in adultery.

What was interesting enough was what Jesus said, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” They went away one by one, beginning with the elders, and left her alone before Jesus. It seemed that she was not the only one who sinned. How comes she didn’t run away when everybody left her alone with Jesus? Unlike others who left because they recognized their sins and didn’t bother to reconcile with the Lord in his presence, this woman recognized her sin and waited for the Lord to forgive her. Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin anymore.”

Have you and I ever sinned against the Lord and one another? Have we recognized our sins? Have we had the courage and strength to allow the Lord to forgive us our sins through the hands of a priest in the sacrament of reconciliation? Have we tried to sin no more than the sins that we committed and asked for forgiveness? Lent is time to help us to practice this. The decision is yours.