Throwing the First Stone

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 -- Week of Advent 2, Year 1

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 936)
Psalms 38 (morning) // 119:25-48 (evening)
Isaiah 6:1-13
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
John 7:53 - 8:11

Scholars regard the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery as one of the authentic stories about Jesus, but not a story that was in John's Gospel originally. It fits much better at this point in Luke's narrative, which is why we jumped over to John 8 today, away from our continuous reading in Luke.

His challengers intend to place Jesus in a dilemma. According to the law of the Torah (Leviticus and Deuteronomy) both guilty parties to adultery are to be put to death. In this confrontation, only the guilty woman is presented, having been "caught in the very act of committing adultery." This is potentially a lose-lose situation for Jesus. To overlook the sin would be to violate the biblical commandments. But such a judgment would probably be unpopular among the people from whom Jesus draws most of his support. His response is full of wisdom and compassion: "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

I've wondered about our usual way of interpreting this from a modern perspective. It is very natural for us to assume that no one is perfect, everyone is a sinner. It was not so among observant Jews in Jesus's day. The goal of religious practice was to follow the law so carefully that one would not sin, an achievable goal. In that context, it might be surprising that no observant, righteous, law-abiding person that day would defend the traditions and follow the commandments by throwing the first stone. It says that they went away, "one by one, beginning with the elders."

I have imagined a scenario in which this crowd, hearing Jesus's challenge, turned to look at the leading elder in this group, knowing him to be righteous and upright, waiting for his act to defend the law against this sinner. His inability to act becomes his public admission of guilt for a similar sin that had weighed on his conscience for many decades. In empathy he exposes his secret. He is simultaneously shamed and healed, and saves the woman from her fate. In my scenario, I've have Jesus coming to him to draw him into the fellowship of compassion and forgiveness that characterizes Jesus's movement. The elder's healing then becomes the catalyst for a new way of being in community among those righteous people who brought the woman to Jesus in the first place. I once tried to write this is a short story, but it didn't work especially well.

Another place for some imaginative thought. What did Jesus write in the sand?

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR