She was caught in the very act. Dragged before the master, expecting nothing but condemnation. They were detailed and very much articulate in their narrative.
For her she was gone, waiting for the time to be stoned. She knew her offence and the consequence that comes with it. Drooped in spirit, pained and perhaps remorseful, her face was bent, her eyes in tears for the presence of Jesus was enough torture to her filthy self, probing into her past life and calling her for a change.
Hey! Woman where are your accusers? Did anyone condemn you? No! So do I! Go and sin no more.
Of all that happened, the interesting aspect of the scene was the exit of the accusers, one after the other, starting with the eldest they all left, very guilty of the most honest question ” Let him who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her”.
Let him who has no sin be the first to cast a stone. The stone here is an attitude of self righteous, an attitude of all is well with me, an attitude of “nothing dey happen” etc. He who has no sin! That was the challenge, not who hasn’t committed adultery. They may not all have committed adultery, but not one person was without sin.
Sin is any act of disobedience to the word of God, it is an out of alignment to the principles of godly values. It might be lying, gossip, hatred, anger, stealing, omission, not necessarily immoral acts.
We live in the world where all other sins are treated with kid gloves while the sin of sexual misbehaviour becomes the talking point.
As much as what she did was condemnable, she wasn’t less a sinner than one who lies and hates.
She wasn’t worse than one who gossips, creating emotional tension and dents to the very person whose name was maligned.
Be careful if you think you stand, lest you fall. Sin is one thing that has ravaged our human nature. It creeps into ones life and causes havoc that would take one a life time to recover.
Many never recover from its blow and pummelling. Think of Samson, the great man of extra ordinary power, who killed lions and destroyed cities all alone, but got beaten unto death by sin.
Many are in this class of Samson. Be wise like David, seeking always for God to search his heart and weed off anything ungodly. He was constantly in the know of his human nature and its frailty to sin.
His terrible experience with Bathsheba that took him down the lane of murder, an act he wouldn’t ordinarily engage in was a big lesson.
Trust not your flesh and be not confident with the thought of your human mind. Slow by slow, it comes. Slow by slow, it gives one reason to act, slow by slow, it makes one comfortable with its proposal and slow by slow one sees onself immense in it.
Just be the first to cast a stone. Anybody that is sincere enough to understand the real meaning of that challenge will just like the elders walk away, saying in bated breath, have mercy! Have mercy!! Against the flouncing of ones assumed righteousness and condemnation of the victim.
We Are Hard Pressed On Every Side, but Not Crushed; Perplexed, but Not In Despair; Persecuted, but Not Abandoned; Struck Down, but Not Destroyed. -2 Corinthians 4:8-9
This should be our mindset. None is without pressing, without being perplexed and without being struck, the difference isn’t in the absence of all these but in ones ability not to be crushed , destroyed and abandoned.
Each time I read De profundis, I get cringed at the futility of human attitude towards other people’ ills and shortcomings .
“”Out of the depths I have cried to Thee O Lord! Lord, hear my voice. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If Thou, O Lord! wilt mark iniquities who will stand. For with the Lord there is mercy; and with Him plentiful of Redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities”.
We are not without sin! The flesh and its concupecience press hard daily on us. Only by his grace we survive for by strength shall no man prevail.
Judge less! Condemn slowly!! Pray more for sinners and those seen to be wayward. They may be those caught and struggling with the flesh of adultery, fornication etc, of a truth they are not more sinners than those whose flesh manifest in pride, arrogance, lies, cheat etc
by the way the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic teaching are pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth.
Let us be humble and pray for those who are presently going through a lot, struggling with one form of addiction, dealing with one form of sin etc It could be me, you etc pray for them and resist the temptation to play a deputy Jesus. If the rays of God’s light of righteousness are beamed on one, the very dark spots in our lives may be very destatable.
Remember Judgment will begin from the house of God. And the very elect, just like the elders would walk away beginning with the eldest.
Jarlath Opara
