17 - St. Thomas More Boynton Beach

Parishioners, contact the
Parish office at
Tel. 561.737.3095
Saint Thomas More Catholic Church
Tel: 561.737.3095 www.stmbb.org
The Bible Speaks
by Pastor Julian P. Harris
Jesus risks His reputation
and credibility by taking
the part of sinners in a world
more ready to condemn than
to pardon, to punish than
to forgive. There comes a
time in everyone’s life when
you’re caught and you can’t
get away with it (whatever
it may be) anymore. That
time comes for a woman,
and the it in this case is being
caught in adultery? The
scribes and the Pharisees
brought a woman taken in
adultery. Having set her in
the midst, they told Jesus,
‘Teacher, we found this
woman in adultery, in the
very act. Now in
our law, Moses
commanded us
to stone such. What then
do You say about her’? (Jn
8:3-5) She’s nameless, she’s
shameless, and she’s caught!
Makes you wonder
where those scribes and
Pharisees were to catch her in
the act? Legalists, hypocrites,
the publically pious but
privately promiscuous
inhabit every age, every town
and every church. They are
always quick to criticize but
slow to compliment. Their
words roll off wagging
tongues in gossip and
breathe in whispered slurs.
They specialize in character
assassination and undermine
the spiritual authority of
pastors, all in the name of
truth that were it
turned on them,
would induce a
flood of excuses,
rationalizations
and protestations
of their sins being no worse
than those of others. They
are grace-killers and Jesus
reserves a special warning for
them when He sees them or
smells them coming: You
offspring of vipers, who
warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? (Matt 3:7);
Take heed and beware of the
yeast of the Pharisees and
Sad’ducees (Matt 16:6); Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! Because you
shut up the Kingdom of
Heaven against men and
women; for you don’t enter
in yourselves, neither do
you allow those who are
entering in to enter. (Matt
23:14). How can such as
these be saved if they persist
in their self-deceptions of
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March 17th, 2013 // Fifth Sunday of Lent // 3