Casting the First Stone

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 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 any more.” [John 8: 1-11].

Many years ago, I was working in a bank, in a big downtown scryscraper.  In the office was a temporary worker. Let's call her Yanana.

She had emigrated from China at the age of thirty. Her husband had come before her to America, and he had found work and a place to live. Then her husband had sent for her.

Yanana had arrived on a plane, with her young daughter at her side. She brought all the possessions that she could carry, in one suitcase.

In this office, the employees said that she was not American. They said that she spoke with an accent. They said that she wrote English poorly. They said that she should learn English. They said that she made mathematical errors in her work. They said that she did not understand instructions.

Each criticism was like a tiny stone thrown her way. Yanana was unaware of these strikes against her. But they poisoned the workplace. Yanana was isolated and without friends.

I listened to this small swell of pebbles, but this small tide soon became  an avalanche. I tried my best to keep my head lowered, and my mind busy with my own work.

But after some time of  enduring this litany, day upon day,  I could stand it no longer.

Remember that, when I was ten, I had stopped speaking. I had given up on my own power to stand up to anyone. When I had started working part- time in college, it was painful to even answer the phone, let alone to go into the boss's office to discuss my work. So often at meetings, I had to make myself  say just one thing.

When Yanana went out to lunch one day, I stood up among the cubicles. I was shaking and my voice was not steady. But, I said in a clear voice, "How would YOU like to pack up everything you owned, bring your tiny daughter on a plane and move to China? How would YOU like to work at a bank, handling large sums of money for clients, and do this all in Chinese?"

There was dead silence.

The worst of the critics paused. She said, " Wow! I never thought of it that way. . . ."

No one ever criticized Yanana again.

I became friends with Yanana. At Thanksgiving time, we discussed her holiday menu. She decided to roast a turkey, but stuff it with rice. At Easter, I gave her my best cheesecake recipe.

The truth was, I so admired her. Yanana was beautiful. She was a martial arts master. She made her own clothes. She was a calligraphy artist. She could cook gourmet meals. And it was her boss who was making errors and blaming Yanana, because it was easier to blame the temporary immigrant worker, than to admit her own errors.

This is why the scribes and Pharisees had to walk away. They were blaming the adulterous woman, but were sinners themselves!

How many hours a day do we spend in criticizing and judging others? I challenge everyone to watch the news each day, and discern how much of what passes for news is actually "judgment of sin".

I agree that we cannot forgive, or make the world better, if we do not discern what went wrong in the first place.

But, as Jesus did, we need to speak up when those who are not perfect themselves, are condemning others.  This is why Jesus says, "I do not condemn you. Now go, and from now on, sin no longer." Jesus does not accept the woman's sin. But he defends her from certain death at the hands of sinners.

There is to no profit to staying in condemnation forever. If we spin our wheels in blame and condemnation, then we can never advance, or heal.

Lord, I pray that I may accept my mistakes, receive the Lord's forgiveness, then pick myself up and try harder the next time.

[Related Postings, " Judge Not", July 18, 2011]

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