Stones

I have been thinking about a recent reading from church this Sunday, one of my favorites. It's about the elders who bring the adulteress to Christ and ask what they should do. He is so calm. He does not respond immediately, but writes in the dust. Finally, He suggests that the one among them without sin, throw the first stone. The crowd fades away leaving Christ with the woman. "Where are they: he asks and then He says he will not condemn her.

I begin to realize that this resonates with me because it is not about the adulteress but me. Christ does this for me, for us, everyday. We are with Him in His silence, a palpable presence, who looks at us and says that He will not condemn us and the we should go and sin no more. Of course, we do, and, again, He is with us and repeats His forgiveness. He will not condemn us - we are the ones who condemn.