throwing stones

The people who brought this woman to Jesus picked up stones and rocks to throw them at her. They were ready to kill her for the Sin that she had committed. So, When you pick up a Stone what does it feel like? For me, It feels cold, hard and uncompromising It has rugged edges and sometimes sharpness to it. Sometimes it feels very heavy and weighing me down.  It takes an effort to break and can’t be broken with just normal human strength. 

When we pick up stones to throw at people they are not necessarily physical stones they are the stones of unforgiveness when our hearts are bound by a hardness of heart for another person or a situation. We hold on to these stones for dear life and have tension in our bodies because we like to hold on to them. We do not listen to compromise we are set firmly in our ways. 

When we hold on to these stones we do not have time to listen to another we do not hear the names or the stories of those that we are condemning.  We hold on the grudges our body language changes. You can almost feel the tension in the bent over body. For some parts of the body have an ache. Relationships are strained we begin to think only of ourselves and our world becomes small and narrow. Any comment even a hello how are you will be construed a different way and can throw us. 

The woman who was brought to Jesus has no name. When a person has no name it is easy to condemn they are faceless and nameless we use words like “ People like that” Or those people. Faceless nameless people are so easy to condemn because they are not personal to us. Ultimately this unforgiveness kills us a little each day.  

But, in the Gospel today and in fact last weeks Gospel Jesus shows us a different way a way of love of unconditional forgiveness and love. He does two things. He reminds us that we are all need to be unbound from Sin. As he writes on the ground they drop their stones. Does he write their Sins down? Or maybe their names? But  maybe they can’t answer that question that they were sinners themselves ready to cast the stone and realising their own hardness of heart. So the only thing to do was to throw down their stones and go. When we are ready to throw our own stones then we have to realise what we are throwing.

But untimely Jesus teaches us something amazing he teaches us to live in freedom from Sin and teaches us how to love. Jesus looks on this woman with love with no condemnation. He forgives her tells her not to sin again to live in freedom. To be unbound from what hinders us from loving others. He teaches us to see a person for who they are a child of God that they have names and dignity that there are no conditions on this love this forgiveness that it is a home coming. 

So these last few weeks of Lent look at what stones you are holding on too what weighs you down that you dot not live in freedom what needs to be unbound what relationships need to be healed and forgiven. What is stoping us from hearing Jesus compassion and love what binds us into that unhealthy Catholic guilt that we feel unfree from living don’t we realise that Jesus forgiveness has no conditions. To live in freedom means we are free to love we are free to see people for who they are Children of God we are not blocked anymore our hearts for people beat louder