Introduction
I was always taught that the Bible is adaptable to any time; yes, even to our times. As Christians, it is up to us to read the Bible and to apply it to our circumstances, not for us to be exempted from our responsibilities, but for us to be guided throughout our journey on this earth! I was moved to write this blog post due to social media reactions that I have been noticing going around. Indeed, this is not my first time being inspired from social media comments (See: The Catholic Church and The State: Their Dynamic in Sexual Abuse Cases).
Although it might overlap a little, this time it is not about ‘innocent until proven guilty’ as such but it is about our reaction upon reading about the alleged guilty. Let me try to explain my thought process here.
Throwing Stones at the ‘Guilty Guys’
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (Jn 8:7). We are all familiar with this biblical verse. A woman who had sinned according to the Law of Moses, was to be stoned to death. This quote is Jesus’ answer to them upon their visible desire to start stoning her. Cruel isn’t it? I need us to realise one thing here: on social media those stones have become comments. Furthermore, while stones remain stones that kill the stoned as intended, comments may lead to a bad reputation when they are uninformed comments. As Christians, particularly as Catholics, we are obliged by canon law to safeguard the good reputation of others (c. 220).
While it is a legal book, the Code of Canon Law has a pastoral intention; we should not forget this. In the Church, while justice is to be served like in the secular world, there is also the aspect of fraternal correction. And what is our first reaction when we read the title of a newspaper post? Stone-throwing!… that is…. impulsively commenting and often a time, without informing ourselves. This is wrong on many levels:
- We must be well-informed before daring to post a comment.
- Like words, comments cause a ripple effect that can harm an innocent person’s reputation (and with comments it is actually more dangerous due to their public nature).
- No matter how well-informed we may be, there is always more to the story.
- We are Christians! Which means that we follow Christ’s example. Is this what Christ does? Not really!
- Most of the time, it is better to just not comment at all: we are sinners too after all.
The first question that comes to mind here is that, should the guilty run scot-free then? This is not what this verse is about. Although Jesus saved the woman from being stoned, he told her to “go and do not sin again” (Jn 8: 11). Thus, he did not reward her ‘bad behaviour’ by sparing her life. On the other hand, he gave her a second chance to correct her wrongdoing. And this is precisely what we should do. If we are really tempted to comment on social media, go ahead, but be true Christians when commenting and let the competent institutions do their job.
Conclusion
What fascinates me in this narrative (Jn 7: 45 – 8: 11) is that once Jesus reminded the condemners that they are sinners too, “they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest” (Jn 8: 9). The eldest is usually considered as having more wisdom and life-experiences in the Bible, and in turn, their behaviour leaves a mark on the younger generations. They indeed left first, because they were very much aware that no one is free of sin. The rest were indeed wise enough to follow the eldest ones as they became conscious of this same reality. It fascinates me for the simple reason that I wonder how we would have reacted if we were part of this crowd, that is, blaming a person for the wrongdoing, who is also outnumbered at that point. Have we become too proud to admit that no one is free of sin? Or are we in denial about this reality?
I do not mean to be too negative, but I believe that once in a while we need to shake ourselves back into reality, we need to dig deep, see who we were and who we have become and whether we like our new self. Being baptised means that we are siblings through that one baptism. It also means that we have to show compassion and to be the ‘adult’ in most situations.
Lastly, we must also acknowledge our shortcomings while at the same time remember that we need to constantly thrive to become more like Jesus: kind, loving and forgiving. Thus, next time we are about to leave a public message, especially about someone (who we sometimes do not even know!), let’s think twice and remember that our stone can be that last stone that takes a life.
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