by Fr. Gregory-David Jones, O.S.B.

     After Jesus challenges the accusers of the adulterous woman, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”, he kneels down and continues writing on the ground.  Many believe that Jesus was listing the sins of each of these men who made the accusation in plain sight for everyone to see.  This could have been the case, because their reaction was simply to quietly walk away.  Jesus revealed that they were sinners just like the woman they wanted to stone to death.  The difference may have been in the types of sins that were darkening their hearts, whether they were hidden from public view or not.  The truth is that Jesus knew the condition of their souls better than they did.  They were just as guilty, if not more guilty than the adulterous woman. 

     For us the story of this woman means that we need to focus our attention first on God’s judgement of our souls in light of our thoughts, words and actions.  How we live is a measure of how much we love God, and we all fall short.  We are so guilty that only Jesus can save us.  The best we can do is root out of our lives everything that hinders our love for God, neighbor and self.  This is a life-long task of conversion because sin is insidious – it can be easily seen or it can be hidden from others and even from ourselves through the self-deception of denial or a lack of serious self-reflection.  This story of the woman caught in adultery demonstrates that there is only one way to judge others: in light of the mercy we hope to receive from God at the Final Judgement and leaving the stones on the ground.

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