Readings:
Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm 126
Philippians 3:8-14
John 8:1-11
Dignity over despair
By Jason Cegayle, Animator for Manitoba and Thunder Bay
In the Gospel of John, the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman who had been caught in adultery and test Jesus about the law on such matters. Jesus appears unconcerned with the woman’s alleged sin but instead challenges her accusers. Rather than punishing the woman as the law dictates and the crowd expects, Jesus says to the Pharisees, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).
His example is an invitation to us to see the dignity of anyone standing humbled; to offer every person created in God’s image and likeness a second chance; and to not be quick or harsh in judging others. Throughout this Gospel passage, we see Jesus’s love for the condemned. Jesus encounters the woman and sees her vulnerability.
But often, we behave more like the Pharisees, choosing to view the poor and the vulnerable as ‘less than’ ourselves or unworthy of receiving more. On a global level, this attitude is evident in how poor countries burdened with unjust debt are treated. Creditor countries and private lenders would rather “stone” indebted countries with unbearable interest payments or punitive economic policy conditions than simply waive their debts.
But these ways of dealing with debt can be the “former things” that Scripture asks us to “not remember” because the Lord is “about to do a new thing” and “make a way in the wilderness” (Isaiah 43:18-19). In this Jubilee year, we can join the Turn Debt into Hope campaign and work to have unjust debt cancelled. We can help create a new just global order in which our actions and laws reflect the inherent dignity of each person and address the root causes of poverty so that all persons can be protagonists of their social change.
This Solidarity Sunday, we are invited to pray, act and give generously to the most forgotten and vulnerable.
We know that our generosity can make a real difference even in the most difficult situations. In 2013, for example, when Typhoon Yolanda left thousands homeless in the Philippines, Canadians responded admirably. Their donations helped partners of Development and Peace — Caritas Canada (DPCC) build the Pope Francis Village, a township of new homes in Tacloban City where over 500 families now enjoy a new life of dignity and hope. DPCC continues to support hundreds of projects around the world that value the dignity of human persons and help them overcome poor living conditions and adverse circumstances.
Like Jesus, let us continue to see and support the dignity of each person. In the poor, let us continue to find God. Let us act in solidarity so that our sisters and brothers in the Global South can live in the image of God’s love and purpose.
