The First Stone

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If you have been attending Catholic Mass or a Christian service, at least weekly, as long as I have, you will have heard the same stories from the Bible over and over. And it may surprise you to see something new in a reading you’ve heard that often.

That was the case a couple of weeks before Easter when I heard, for perhaps the 80^th time, the story in the Gospel of John about “the woman caught in adultery.” It’s a remarkable story, even though it’s a matter of debate among Scripture scholars whether it is an original part of the Gospel of John. That doesn’t mean it lacks authenticity. It may mean that it was a story about Jesus that was added later than the original composition of the gospel of John.

If you recall, the context is the continual attempt by the religious authorities to undermine Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is teaching in the temple area when the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman “caught in the very act of adultery.” Presumably, their hands are filled with stones and their hearts with animosity – not just toward the woman, who is simply being used in their scheme, but toward Jesus, whom they view as a threat to their authority.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

The story’s author acknowledges that it was an attempt to place Jesus between a rock and a hard place, similar to when they showed Jesus a Roman coin and asked if Jews should pay taxes to Rome. In the case of the woman, if he agreed that she should be stoned, he would be contradicting all of his preaching about forgiveness. If he didn’t, he would be violating the Law of Moses, a serious offense for his accusers.

His response, in my view, was nothing short of genius. He didn’t accuse, he didn’t argue, he didn’t insult. He simply said, “Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.” Talk about a sudden reverse in fortunes! You can just see the stones falling from the men’s hands.

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It won’t be lost on any woman reading this that there is no mention of the man who also was undoubtedly “caught” in adultery, even though adultery is plainly forbidden by the Sixth Commandment and applies to both men and women. It is no wonder Jesus is known to have lost patience with the religious leaders - in another place in the gospels, calling them “hypocrites.”

Interesting that “hypocrisy” is still the most common charge against religious people, especially against religious leaders. And it’s understandable. Religious people sometimes find it difficult to practice what they preach. But who doesn’t?

Seems to me that human beings in general have a hard time doing what they say they’re going to do; in sticking by their principles; in following through on their commitments. Many people, religious or not, say one thing and do another.

Which Is Better?

But which is better, having principles and trying to follow them - even though you may fail to always do so - or not bothering with principles and simply making up your morality and ethics as you go along?

For people searching for God, this should be a no-brainer. Along with belief, comes the challenge to be God-like – to be loving, merciful, compassionate and accepting of all. Following the Ten Commandments and the teaching of your faith is a start. But beyond that, we need to go out of our way, to leave our comfort zones, if necessary, for people who need our help.

Among the New Testament verses that come to my mind too infrequently is from the Letter of James: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. …Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”