Leaving the Stones Alone

One of my most favorite passages in the Bible is when the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in the very act of adultery in front of Jesus. According to Jewish law at that time, she was to be stoned to death. They wanted to see how He would handle it. Jesus just stoops down and draws on the ground like he doesn’t hear them. They keep pestering him about it until Jesus stands up and says, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” That shuts them up. Starting from the eldest to the youngest each one departs.

Can you just hear the sound of stones clicking against each other as they are dropped? Imagine the peace after the last stone falls. Imagine that woman’s relief when the only one who truly has the right to bash her to death with those rocks does not condemn her and lets her go in peace with only one command to sin no more. The stones are left alone.

Think how many times a person, a loved one, acquaintance, or total stranger, comes before us in sin. How many times have we scooped up a handful of stones and started pelting them without pardon or mercy? Remember how Jesus treated the woman caught in that dirty, horrible sin. Remember your own sins. If you have sinned even once, then you have no further right to cast the stones. Remember and drop your stones—click, click, click—until your hands are empty. Follow Jesus’ example.

I encourage you to read St. John Chapter 8 verses 1 through 11. Read it again. Put it into your heart and mind, so when people come before you in sin, you’ll leave the stones alone.