A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped celebrate my retirement from public service after a long and satisfying career.   As I begin a new chapter, I am humbled by the support and love I experience in this parish.
 
Our Gospel this weekend is the familiar story of the woman caught in adultery.  The woman who was brought before Jesus was nothing more than a pawn of the Pharisees.   Her humiliation and dignity made no difference to them, but it did to Jesus.  Jesus saw her dignity and value and treated her with love and compassion.   Each one of us can imagine ourselves in her shoes, standing in front of Jesus for something we did or failed to do.   We are told he simply knelt and used his finger to write in the dirt before saying “Let the one among you without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.”  
 
With this example, Jesus challenges us to see the suffering and injustices in our world today, not only towards women, but also towards immigrants, those in the trans community, the undocumented, the bullied, the oppressed, but also one another.  Prejudice and discrimination are alive and well in our society and when we allow it to color our vision, to close our hands into a fist or in a sign of refusal, we turn ourselves away from God and become little more than modern-day Pharisees. 
 
This story also reminds us of the depth of God’s love for us.  Jesus offers us forgiveness and compassion, just as he offered it to the woman in today’s gospel.  There is no sin strong enough to prevent God’s love from breaking through, showering us with mercy, understanding, and healing.  We simply have to ask, to turn ourselves back to God to experience that welcome, love, and mercy. 
 
As our Lenten journey draws to a close, remember the words spoken on Ash Wednesday, “Turn away from sin and embrace the gospel.”  Turning away from sin means different things each of us and now is the time for us to identify the areas in life that turn us away from embracing the gospel Jesus shared with us.  Embracing God’s mercy, we can be our best selves as we journey into Holy Week that leads to the joy of the resurrection.
 
May God bless you and your loved ones today, tomorrow, and forever more.
 
+ Harry