One of God’s main policies in governing the universe is giving us another chance. It may seem strange to say that God has policies, but if we de-fine a policy as a consistent way of behaving in the face of specific circumstances, then God’s habit of giving us another chance sure qualifies.
This is what the prophet Isaiah tells us in today’s first reading: “Remember not the events of the past. See, I am doing something new!” God invites us, his people, to look to the future with hope.
At the time Isaiah, the people of Israel were living in exile as second-class citizens in Babylon. They were unfaithful to God, and so Jerusalem was destroyed and its inhabitants scattered or enslaved. There was little room for hope, but God assured them that he was going to do something new.
It’s God’s policy to give us another chance, to bring us back from exile even when we don’t deserve it. And Jesus follows the same policy with the adulterous woman. Notice that he doesn’t excuse her sin. But at the same time, he doesn’t condemn her either. He gives her another chance.
It’s a relief that God follows this policy, because if he didn’t, how could we have any hope? Giving us another chance is one of God’s main policies. It’s called mercy; it’s called forgiveness; it’s called true love.
Advertising for Paco
Ernest Hemingway illustrates God’s policy to forgive us in his story, The Capital of the World. It takes place in Madrid and it’s about a father and his son who were estranged from one another. The son’s name is Paco, and he had seriously wronged his father. As a result, in his shame, he ran away.
His father searched all over Spain, but could not find his son. Finally, in a desperate attempt to find him, he placed an ad in the newspaper that read: Paco, meet me at the Hotel Montana at noon on Tuesday. All is forgiven. Papa. On Tuesday at noon the father was at the hotel eagerly hoping to see his son. To his utter amazement, he saw over 800 young men named Paco, who had come to receive forgiveness from their fathers.
This beautiful story illustrates the great truth that Jesus gave us in his Parable of the Prodigal Son. Our hearts have been wounded by our own sins and the sins of others. And we have also done our share of wounding others as well. That’s why we need to experience God’s policy of forgiveness over and over again if we are going to be healed.
Today, our Father has put an ad in the Liturgy to remind us that we can always come back home. His heart is always open to us. That’s God’s policy.
Give Someone Another Chance
The Pharisees wanted to kill the sinful woman. But Jesus gave her another chance. If his mission is to give us another chance, then this has to be our mission, too. We are called to be ambassadors of God’s mercy. We are called to be instruments of the Resurrection. In order to do this, we will have to suffer, as he did; we will have to die to ourselves, to deny our natural tendencies to anger, resentment, revenge, and criticism.
And so we need to ask ourselves: Is there someone in my life who needs another chance? Is there someone that I’ve given up on? Is there someone I’ve condemned, just like the Pharisees in today’s Gospel? Is there someone I’ve tried to destroyed by gossip or criticism?
Some of us will be able to think of someone right away. Others will need to ask God for light. But all of us need to change policies. Today, we need to adopt or re-adopt God’s policy.
A few moments from now, the Real Presence of Jesus will come to us in Holy Communion. Let’s be sure to thank him for not condemning us, and let’s promise him that, with his grace, we too will do our best to give everyone we encounter another chance, especially those who deserve it least.