Meeting Truth with Compassion

HOMILY: Fifth Sunday of Lent

John 8:1-11

3 April 2022

F. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

I know of this woman in her late fifties who got her first smart phone in the late 2019. Over the pandemic, she struggled to learn how to use it. She managed to join messenger chat groups and navigate her FB account on her phone browser. Dati, na-access lang niya ang FB niya pag nakikigamit siya ng computer ng kapatid niya. Ngayong madalas na siyang nakakapag-FB, namamangha sya sa mga posts na nababasa niya at pinaniniwalaan niya ang LAHAT ng ito. Hindi pa buo sa isip niya ang konsepto ng fake news. The worst part is she loves to SHARE and pass around what she finds interesting even if the information is not true. Dahil mas bata siya, tiwala ang mga lola friends niya na matalino siya at mulat sa mga kaganapan.  Kaya kahit anong ipasa nyang basura at kasinungalingan, pinaniniwalaan ito ng mga lola. Hangga’t walang nagpapatunay na mali siya, pinaninindigan pa niya at ipinaglalaban ang mga “shine-share”o “pino-post” niya. Nakakatawang, nakakaawang, nakakainis…

May kaibigan o kakilala ka bang ganyan? I’m sure. Naglipana ang Marites (Mare ito ang latest), Marietta (Mare, ito pa), Marisol (Mareng nanunulsol), Marissa (Mare, isa pa), Maricon (Mare, confirmed), Marichu (Mareng echusera), etc.  Pasintabi sa mga kapangalan ng mga ito. Hindi rin totoo na pawang babae lang ang ganyan. May mga lalaki din na nuknukan ng tsismoso. Yan ang realidad sa ating lipunan. Isn’t it true that we allow ourselves to be misled by gossip, lies and half-truths? We have to be very careful about what we believe in social media especially during this election period where trolls are paid to spread disinformation and to engage people into fighting and arguing online. They love to sensationalize things to suit their agenda. It is nothing new though, because as we hear in today’s gospel, it also happened in Jesus’ time!

In today’s Gospel passage, a group of scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in the very act of adultery. Hoping to get Him to react in a way that would entrap him. They wanted Jesus to contradict His teachings and try to get Him to publicly disregard the Jewish laws. I recall one of my professors saying that “If she was caught in the very act of adultery, why did they not bring in her partner as well?” That’s a genuinely valid question. Both were guilty of the act and under the Jewish law both of them are supposed to be stoned. So, why was it only the woman who was brought in to be judged? Anyway, as the story progresses, we are told that instead of passing judgement on the woman, Jesus “bent down and wrote on the ground with His finger”. Many have speculated on this gesture of Jesus. Though it is not important what Jesus wrote on the ground, a Bible commentator sheds light on this well-known gesture. This very act of Jesus calls to mind Jeremiah’s denunciation of Israel’s infidelities and refusal to repent (Jer. 17:13). “O Lord, all who forsake You shall be put to shame; those who turn away from You shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.” In this sense, Jesus is trying to make them realise that nothing much had changed among them since Jeremiah’s time. They have been quick to pass judgment on others and yet they themselves have been unfaithful to God. Hence, Jesus challenges them: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)

In the Bible, Israel herself has been found to be in adulterous relationships with the foreign gods. Hosea is the prophet who speaks quite vividly of the covenant infidelity of the Israelites to the One True God. Despite Israel’s unfaithfulness, the prophet also highlights God’s faithful response to the covenant He had made with His people by showing them mercy. Similarly in the gospel account, instead of sending the adulterous woman to death, Jesus sends her to life. Jesus gives her a new lease on life. But take note also that although Jesus does not condemn her, neither does He exonerate her. Jesus exhorts her to sin no more. 

The Gospel passage teaches us to be most mindful in arriving at conclusions and in making judgments. Sometimes, we are given information that normally we consider “nakakasakit ng ulo” or “nakakataas ng BP”. Before we react, it is best to take a breath and take a step back to assess whether it is true and if we are looking at the complete picture. These days there is so much fake news, spliced videos and altered photos, that we can no longer accept things at face value. The woman I mentioned in the beginning used to believe every video on social media and Viber until someone taught her about deepfakes and video splicing. However, she has yet to learn the difference between a legitimate video from a credible source and the heavily biased “fan-made spliced or narrated videos”. Apps like Photoshop can manipulate photographs, while MyHeritage can animate a still photograph, Reface and Zao can create deepfakes wherein the user can make super believeable fake videos of anyone saying whatever the user wants them to say.   These can be dangerous especially at this time when some in the government has undertaken the malicious blacklisting of anti-administration individuals. Nakakatakot kung magawan ka ng fake video tapos na redtag ka. Sana, maging mapanuri din ang ilang mga awtoridad bago sila mag-redtag. 

Sometimes, we cannot help make rash judgments about people and situations. We tend to overreact or make hasty conclusions without making an effort to fact check or learn the whole story. For instance, I saw this post many years ago with a prompt not to be quick in judging others. Pinakita sa post ang larawan ng isang napakabatang buntis sa kalsada. Karamihan ng nakakita sa picture, naisip na maaga siyang lumandi pero kung mabasa mo ang kwento niya, masaklap ang kapalaran niya dahil ipinagbubuntis niya ang bunga ng panggagahasa sa kanya. Marami pang example kung saan tayo ay mabilis na nagiging mapanghusga gaya ng lalaking tinaguriang nating “baduy” na working student pala at walang pambili ng bagong damit, o yung estudyanteng pinagkakamalang “bulakbol” dahil laging absent, yun pala wala lang siyang pambaon at pamasahe. O kaya yung tindera sa palengke na binarat-barat mo para sa isang kilong gulay at sinabihan mong madamot, samantalang dose kilometro pala ang nilalakad papuntang palengke para makatipid sa pamasahe at may maiuwi pang kita sa panghapunan ng pamilya. 

We live in unusual times where we have access to a wealth of information online and the speed of communication has improved tremendously. If we are not careful, we can be agents of spreading lies and destroyers of innocent people’s reputations. Sometimes we arrogantly believe we know enough or that we are always right. The truth is, we have no right to judge others because most of the time we do not have the complete story. Let us learn to suspend our judgment before we can verify the circumstances surrounding the issue. We should be more like Christ who stands for the truth and who is welcoming and accepting of people regardless of their flaws and mistakes in life. He scrutinizes the heart, more than anything and reacts always with understanding and compassion.