SPEAKER_00: There's a thread that runs through both readings today, and if you miss it, you miss everything.
SPEAKER_00: And it's this not all accusations are true.
SPEAKER_00: Not all who judge are just.
SPEAKER_00: Not all who are condemned are guilty.
SPEAKER_00: In the first reading, Susanna is innocent, completely innocent, and yet she's dragged into public judgment.
SPEAKER_00: Not because of truth, but because of lust, power, and manipulation.
SPEAKER_00: Two men, respected, religious leaders, use their position to lie, to control the narrative, to destroy her.
SPEAKER_00: And the people, what do they do?
SPEAKER_00: Well, they believe it because it looks credible.
SPEAKER_00: It sounds official.
SPEAKER_00: Comes from people in authority.
SPEAKER_00: And an innocent woman is almost put to death.
SPEAKER_00: Now hold that because when we come to the gospel, what do we see?
SPEAKER_00: Well, another woman dragged, exposed, placed in the middle, accused.
SPEAKER_00: Do you see it?
SPEAKER_00: Same scene, different ending.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the twist.
SPEAKER_00: In the gospel, the woman is actually guilty.
SPEAKER_00: In the first reading, the woman is completely innocent.
SPEAKER_00: And yet in both cases the crowd is ready to destroy.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the teaching.
SPEAKER_00: Listen carefully.
SPEAKER_00: Human judgment is dangerous because we're very quick to condemn and very slow to examine ourselves.
SPEAKER_00: In Susanna's story, the judges are corrupt.
SPEAKER_00: In the gospel, the accusers are hypocrites.
SPEAKER_00: And in both cases, the system fails until God intervenes.
SPEAKER_00: In the first reading, we see how God raises up Daniel, a young man, not powerful, not established, but clear.
SPEAKER_00: And he exposes the lie.
SPEAKER_00: He separates the voices.
SPEAKER_00: He demands truth, and suddenly everything collapses.
SPEAKER_00: And in the gospel, God Himself stands there.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't argue the law.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't debate.
SPEAKER_00: He does something far more dangerous.
SPEAKER_00: He turns the spotlight.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.
SPEAKER_00: And just like that, the accusers become the accused.
SPEAKER_00: This is the moment.
SPEAKER_00: This is where the gospel hits us hard.
SPEAKER_00: Because we want justice until it turns towards us.
SPEAKER_00: And one by one they walked away.
SPEAKER_00: Because they know.
SPEAKER_00: Now here's where people misunderstand this gospel.
SPEAKER_00: They think it's about being nice.
SPEAKER_00: Well, no.
SPEAKER_00: It's about truth and mercy meeting together as one.
SPEAKER_00: Because they look at what Jesus does.
SPEAKER_00: He protects her from death, but he does not pretend that her sin doesn't matter.
SPEAKER_00: What does he say?
SPEAKER_00: He goes, Neither do I condemn you.
SPEAKER_00: That's mercy.
SPEAKER_00: Go and sin no more.
SPEAKER_00: That's truth.
SPEAKER_00: And if you remove either one, you no longer have Christianity.
SPEAKER_00: You have sentiment.
SPEAKER_00: You have cruelty.
SPEAKER_00: But not the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: So here's the challenge.
SPEAKER_00: This is where it gets uncomfortable.
SPEAKER_00: Where are you in this story?
SPEAKER_00: Because you're in it.
SPEAKER_00: We're all in it.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you in the crowd, quick to judge, quick to assume, quick to condemn, living off partial truth, half stories, appearances.
SPEAKER_00: We don't know the whole story.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you are the elders, not in action, but in heart.
SPEAKER_00: Allowing things like pride, ego, desire, resentment to distort your judgment.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you are the women, carrying real sin, real mistakes, real shame, and wondering, is there a way back from all of this?
SPEAKER_00: And some of you need to become Daniel, the one who refuses injustice, the one who says, This is not right.
SPEAKER_00: Even when it costs something.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the center of it all.
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss this.
SPEAKER_00: God sees what is hidden.
SPEAKER_00: In Susanna's story, O eternal God, you know what is hidden.
SPEAKER_00: And in the gospel, Jesus proves it.
SPEAKER_00: He sees everything, not just her sin, their sin, your sin, my sin.
SPEAKER_00: He sees everything.
SPEAKER_00: And yet he does not destroy, he restores.
SPEAKER_00: That's the difference between human judgment and divine judgment.
SPEAKER_00: We are very quick and very good at exposing shame.
SPEAKER_00: God exposes to be able to heal.
SPEAKER_00: So here's what we have for today: three things.
SPEAKER_00: Drop the stones, stop pretending you're the judge, standing in the truth, stop hiding beneath behind appearances, receive mercy and change.
SPEAKER_00: Not stay the same.
SPEAKER_00: Change.
SPEAKER_00: Because the most dangerous thing of the world is not being accused, it's being blind to your own sin.
SPEAKER_00: The most powerful thing of the world is not being perfect, it's being forgiven and transformed.
SPEAKER_00: So today let God be the judge.
SPEAKER_00: Let Christ be the one who speaks into your life.
SPEAKER_00: And when he does, don't run, don't hide, don't justify, listen.
SPEAKER_00: Because the same voice that says, Neither do I condemn you, is the same voice that says, Go and sin no more.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.