On this fifth Sunday of Lent, Jesus continues to show us that God is full of mercy and forgiveness. God looks beyond our faults and sees what we need. All of us need God’s love which is everlasting no matter what.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman accused of adultery to Jesus. He understood their motives but he saw the woman who was filled with guilt and shame. Where was the other person? Jesus began to write on the ground as each man walked away one by one. With this action, grace and mercy are given to both the religious leaders and the woman.
Jesus is the ultimate expression of God’s mercy and commitment to us all.

God knows our strengths and abilities. God knows limitations and weaknesses but always offers mercy as his gift to us all. When we look back over our lives and how far we have come, we know that it must have been the hands of God that saved us from ourselves.

The power of the outstretched arms of Jesus on the Cross is his love that knows us better than we know ourselves and he loves us anyhow. What can we give to God for his grace and mercy to us? Like the story of the prodigal son last Sunday, God waits for our return. Sometimes, it is difficult situations that bring us him. No matter how we came to him, Jesus waits for us with open arms. He prepares a table for us in the sight of our enemies and calls us blessed.

What part of our life needs God’s mercy and grace at this moment?