Pointing the Finger
Written by Sr. Rita Petrarca, ASCJ
Fingers can be very powerful symbols. Consider the life-giving “finger of God” in Michelangelo’s Creation, or Jesus touching the eyes of the blind man, or the comforting touch of a mother wiping away tears from the face of her distraught child.
There is a lot of finger-pointing in this week's Sunday Gospel. “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery” (Jn. 8:4). Jesus is faced with a dilemma: uphold the law demanding that such a woman be stoned, or violate the law and let her go.
Bending down, Jesus uses his finger to make tracings in the sand and then turns the finger-pointing toward the accusers. “If any of you is without sin, cast the first stone” (Jn. 8:7). The finger of Jesus’ mercy touched the heart of the woman: “Go and sin no more.”
Pointing out someone else’s flaws is so easy to do, yet it diminishes my own sense of wrongdoing and keeps me from self-examination and the possibility of repentance. This guilty woman experienced the “finger” of God’s loving forgiveness, setting her free and pointing her in a new direction. That opportunity was offered to the accusers as well.
Each of us during this Lenten season is invited to an encounter with Jesus—to be touched by his love and mercy and to be set free. Jesus teaches us that the fulfillment of the law is mercy. Having ourselves been “touched,” can we, in turn, extend fingers of mercy to others?