Devotion for today: Could you cast the first stone?

John 8:1-11: Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

This past Sunday’s gospel continues to occupy my mind. I keep dwelling on it as I go about my daily activities. It is so rich in significance, and I find myself picturing myself in the event in three ways: as one of the crowd, as one of the elders, and as the woman.

As one of the crowd: I can see myself as someone who would have come to the temple area that morning. After all, Jesus was pretty famous for His preaching and teaching, and being interested in all things pertaining to God, I probably would have migrated to Him that morning. Maybe I had heard Him before and was captivated, wanting to here more. Maybe I heard rumors about Him and was curious. In any event, I would not have been prepared for what followed next.

 As one of the elders, scribes and Pharisees: Here I would be one of the ones who really did spend time knowing the law or tenants of my faith, yet came before Jesus lacking mercy. Many times I have been guilty of a judgmental attitude, and many times I present my case before God with somewhat distorted theology, as these men did, for the actual law said that both the man and the woman must be stoned if found guilty. If misinterpreting the law of God gets me what I want, then there are times when I will do it. I call that, “Playing in the gray.” It means I know what the truth is, but the truth isn’t convenient to what I am trying to do. So I change it. Anyway, if I do not have the proper authority to be judging someone, then what is the point? Self-righteousness is a serious problem for those who want to be holy. It can make them very “Phariseeish.”

 The woman caught in adultery: Now this is where I see myself in complete fear and trembling. Every one of us knows that we never want our sins to be exposed. That is why sinning is walking in darkness and obeying God is walking in light. Sin is dirty and awful, and being caught in it is shameful. We try to hide it in the darkness so we look good on the outside. The problem is, of course, that God sees everything, so our sin is always exposed to Him. I picture myself as the woman staring at Jesus as my judge, for that is what I think she must have thought he was, and waiting for the verdict. The truth is evident. I did commit the sin, but what is He going to do? And how awful to be exposed this way in front of everyone, yet for every sin we commit, we harm others. There is no private sin. To believe there is, is to believe one of the greatest lies Satan has sold us.

 Now I picture myself back in the crowd listening as Jesus says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” I feel electricity going through my body. Who is without sin? Who is there among us who hasn’t wasted precious brain space and verbal time condemning others when it is we ourselves who need to take a hard look and see what we have done to offend God? The woman committed a real sin; that is a fact. But who among the accusers had not committed offenses against God? I watch and see. Obviously, they were all sinners, because they all left. Now we watch Jesus with the woman. What a shock it is to see Him look at her, forgive her sin and tell her to go and sin no more! What to think? She did sin, but sin is forgivable, as long as the desire to sin no more is real? Jesus judges the sin and not the sinner, and offers mercy and forgiveness when a person is truly, truly sorry? I wonder if I would be able to comprehend all this. Lucky for us, I have a few commentaries and Catechism passages to help us out.

Catechism of the Catholic Church - 1431 Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace. This conversion of heart is accompanied by a salutary pain and sadness which the Fathers called animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart).  1451: Among the penitent's acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again."  Being forgiven entails having contrition for the sin and also experiencing conversion to God. Conversion is not simply turning away from our sins. It also entails turning towards, and coming closer to God.

From Pope Francis’ homily for the fifth Sunday of Lent:

“Mercy is the Lord’s most powerful message. If we are like the Pharisee before the altar, [who said], ‘Thank you, Lord, for not making me like all the other men, and especially not like that fellow at the door, like that publican…,’ well, then we do not know the heart of the Lord, and we shall not ever have the joy of feeling this mercy. It is not easy to entrust oneself to the mercy of God, because [His mercy] is an unfathomable abyss – but we must do it!  He has the ability to forget, [which is] special: He forgets [our sins], He kisses you, He embraces you, and He says to you, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now, on, sin no more.’ Only that counsel does He give you.  We ask for the grace of never tiring of asking pardon, for He never tires of pardoning.” 

This story also illustrates another pastoral issue. As Augustine noted (In John 33.8), we are in danger from both hope and despair. That is, we can have a false optimism that says "God is merciful so I can do as I please" or a despair that says "there is no forgiveness for the sin I have committed." This story shows we should keep these two inclinations in balance. There is no sin that God does not forgive. Christ's death atoned for all sin. The only sin that remains unforgiven is the one that is not repented of. But, on the other hand, God's call to us is to intimacy with himself, and sin cannot be in his presence any more than darkness can be in the presence of light. Christ's atonement cleanses us from sin as we repent day by day, and his Spirit is working in us a transformation so that in the end we will come out pure, though not in this life (1 Jn 1:8). But sin must be cut off. We must take it seriously. Jesus himself often tells us to fear God and his judgment. http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/IVP-NT/John/Jesus-Forgives-Woman-Taken