Go and sin no more!
April 6, 2025 | 5th Sunday of lent, Year C, John 8:1-11
The story of the woman caught in adultery helps us to experience God's mercy once again on this fifth Sunday of Lent. While Jesus is clearly showing that he did not come to condemn us, he also challenges us not to sin anymore. What does this mean for us?
1) Jesus has power over sin
“Sin no more,” first of all, magnifies Jesus' power over sin. By dying, Jesus destroyed our death and by rising, he restored our life. Paul writes in Romans 6:6-14: “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him...For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin. Therefore, reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions... For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace.”
2) An invitation to holiness
"Sin no more" is also an invitation to holiness. Forgiveness of sin is indeed a call to walk in the newness of life that Jesus provides by his grace (1 Peter 2:24). The sacrament of reconciliation is not given to make of us swines of iniquities, but children who lead a holy life worthy of the Gospel. God's mercy offers us the grace to be transformed more and more into the image of God (Lamentations 3:22-23, 2 Corinthians 3:18).
By the sending the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to fight sin, resist temptations and lead a holy life.
Jesus, I trust in you!
Living the Gospel this week. How Do We Resist Sin?
As we are getting close to the Holy week, let us look at ways that could help us resist sins and regain the joy of our salvation (Psalm 51:12)
As a reality, which is always before us (Ps 51:3), we need God's grace to overcome sin.
Most saints have insisted on the grace of regular confession of our sin as one good way to resist and conquer sin (James 5:16).
We fight sin through the power of God’s Word like Jesus in the desert (Mt 4:1-11). We learn to apply the Scriptures to our lives daily. (2 Corinthians 10:5, Ephesians 6:10-20).
We can resist by fleeing from temptations as Joseph did, literally running away from it (Genesis 39:1-23) and pursuing righteousness and holiness through constant prayer. Let's always remember the biblical advice from the Apostle James: "Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
Happy 5th Sunday of Lent!
Fr. Georges sac