18-03-24 Buang Dosa, Raih Rahmat: Mengubah Sampah Menjadi Berkat

Monday 5th week of Lent "Jn 8:1-11" The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?"...And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus looked up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." We are sinful. God is Merciful. Everyone has sins. Everyone needs Mercy. The issue wasn't that the woman was a sinner but that the scribes and Pharisees thought they were sinless. It took a moment for Jesus to remind them that they were not. The real problem is not sin, but the lack of repentance. How could they repent if they didn't admit their sins? Jesus said it many times: He came looking for sinners. He didn't have any problem giving the keys of His Kingdom to Peter, who denied Him; or choosing the greedy Matthew, or appointing Paul as Apostle after having persecuted Christians, or making Augustine Bishop of Hippo. History is full of examples of sinners who became saints. When we accept our sins and ask for forgiveness, we use them to grow in holiness. One day, Simon Wright found out about a load of apples that were going to be thrown out. Then he came up with the idea of using those apples to make cider. Hawkes Cider is sold now all over the UK. This is one example of a business based on the principle 'From Trash to Cash', or how to make a profit from waste. That is what we do, supernaturally speaking, when we go to Confession. God takes those sins that we confess, He puts them on the Cross during the Holy Mass and transforms them into grace. Mary, Mother of Mercy, may I always go to Confession with contrition, allowing Jesus to turn the enemy's weapons against him and transform my sins into grace to overcome sin.