Daily Gospel Reflection for March 27, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: John 8:1-11

It was a trap. The whole thing was designed to be a trap. When the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery before Jesus, they weren’t interested in whether or not it was right to stone the woman. They wanted to catch Jesus in a mistake.

The evangelist John tells us,

“They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.”

The Pharisees were confident that they had the right answer. They only wanted to use the woman caught in adultery against Jesus.

How often do I use other people for my own schemes? My intentions might not be as wicked as the Pharisees were, but perhaps I was the doing the right thing for the wrong reason. Did I volunteer at that charity event because I wanted to help raise money for a good cause, or was I looking to mingle with the “right people” for my own personal gain? Did I donate to the food pantry because I wanted to help people in need or to make myself look generous in the eyes of others?

Often I find people playing the role of Pharisee on social media. We love to point fingers at one another to let others know how wrong they are. Publicly (and perhaps privately) we’ll say that we are pointing out this person's sins in order to “save” them from their own mistakes, but are we really interested in saving that person’s soul? Or are we just being smug like the Pharisees?

Ponder:

When I witness sinful behavior, do I offer up a prayer and penance for the sinner and examine my own conscience, or do I seek to reprimand them to inflate my own ego?

Pray:

Lord, help my motives to be pure. When confronting sin, send me your grace to deal with it charitably and mercifully.

Click to tweet:
What do we do when we witness behavior we know is sinful? Do we behave like the Pharisees or like Jesus? #DailyGospel

Copyright 2023 Amy J. Cattapan