Stones. How tightly we cling to them. Whoever is without sin, let them cast the first stone.
How many of us struggle with judgment? How many of us struggle with judging other people? And how much does that consume our time and energy? It’s like we’re grasping this stone. Jesus says, “Let whoever is with without sin cast the first stone.”
I want to take this first from the side of the Pharisees. I want you to imagine that you are there. Whoever you’re judging is in the place of the woman, and you’ve been clinging to this stone for so long in your life. See, we cling to our judgments. We cling to our unforgiveness. But right now, we’re all probably judging someone. Let the one who is without sin be the first to cast the stone.
Now I want you to take it from the side of the woman who’s caught in adultery. How many of us have sinned? How many of us can think of the worst sin that we ever committed? Think back in your lives. What’s the worst thing that you ever did? Now imagine you were caught. How different would your life be? Can you imagine what this woman must have felt, the shame, the fear, the trepidation? Maybe during the season of Lent, you come to realize your own sin. It weighs so heavy upon you.
This stone can not only be grasped and desired to use for other people, sometimes we condemn ourselves as well. Sometimes, over and over and over again, we clench to this stone. It’s important for us to know that there is no unforgivable sin.
If there is anything in your life that you think may be unforgivable, just know that that’s coming from the enemy. Maybe something that you find yourself haunted by, or something that you just can’t stop. Jesus wants to do for you the same thing that he did for this woman.
The sacrament of Confession is an encounter with His mercy. What changed this woman’s life is not only did Jesus stand by her, but in her worst moment, when she was caught in shame, fear almost stoned to death, He spoke these powerful words: “Let me the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” And they began to drop their stones one by one by one until it was just her and the Lord. He says, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
When we come to the sacrament of Reconciliation, that’s what we experience, the mercy of God. There’s nothing that you can say that will be unforgiven. You will experience only the Father’s unconditional love and mercy.
Pope Francis, right after he was appointed the Holy Father, in his first Angelus, that he prays every Friday, said, “God never tires of forgiving us. We sometimes tire of asking Him for forgiveness. Let us never tire of His forgiveness. He is the loving Father who always has a heart full of mercy for us.” It’s important to realize that we’re not defined by the worst moments in our life. We’re not defined by the worst sin in our life. What defines us is the Father’s love for us.
There’s a line that every Saint had a past and every Sinner has a future. This moment of encounter with Jesus changes this woman’s life, as she goes forth with the command to sin no more.
We hear in the prophet Isaiah today, “Remember not the events of the past, the things long ago consider not, see I am doing something new in you!” This woman’s life would become new from this moment on. Our lives become new when we experience His mercy. And Saint Paul encourages us in the letter to the Philippians, “Just one thing: Forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of the upward calling of Jesus Christ.”
These stones get heavy after a while. The Eucharist is a call for us to stop judging others and to even stop condemning ourselves. Right now, at this moment, Jesus is asking us to drop our stones.
