"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:10-11)
The story is a familiar one among Christian circles. A woman was caught in adultery, and some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees brought her before Jesus, questioning if they should stone her according to what had been written in the Law. He questioned their holiness by saying, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
Of course, no one is without sin except Jesus, so they didn't stone her. Praise God for His forgiveness! What a story! Something as big of a sin as adultery appears to be is just as horrific as the smallest white lie. In fact, any sin is reason enough for Jesus to condemn us to suffer God's wrath; yet God poured out His wrath on Jesus while He was dying on the cross, and He has the power to give us eternal life because He rose from the grave three days later!
This woman's story had a happy ending. But what if it didn't? What if Jesus wasn't there? What if she was caught in the act of adultery, and within seconds, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees took her out to the streets and stoned her to death? She was a fortunate survivor, blessed beyond measure, but there are many just like her who suffer such a gruesome consequence.
Even today.
It was late afternoon. I was on my way home from an enjoyable time in the downtown area of Kampala, using my favourite form of public transportation: a boda boda (a motorcycle taxi). With my 6-year-old Ugandan buddy in between the boda driver and I, we were cruising down Ggaba Road, while I recorded videos along the way. With the cool breeze blowing past us in the heat of the sun, I was very content.
Until I saw the crowd.
Out in the storefront of some venders, between the stores and the road, a large crowd had gathered. It was so large that it was actually impeding the flow of traffic to the point we had to stop completely for about a minute before we could continue. I watched curiously. I knew that the election for a prime minister is due to happen early next year, so I assumed it was some marketing scheme or parade of a new candidate. That was until I saw a small white hockey-like stick raise up in the air and then come crashing down again from the centre of the crowd.
"What is happening?" I wondered, so I asked the boda driver.
"A thief is being stoned to death," he replied candidly.
My heart stopped. I saw a red brick raised high, then thrown down with such brute force. A second. A third. Then another. And another. The sickening sound of the blunt 'thud' as it hit the man each time rang in my ear.
I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to think. With my phone already out from before, I raised my phone and tapped 'Record'. I watched as these bricks were brutally propelled towards this man I could not see, labelled a thief, in the middle of this crowd.
A man passed by with a smile on his face, slightly jumping up and down, giving a cheer of approval and praise to the murder occurring just 10 feet in front of me.
"How can I sit here recording such a horrific sight? Should I go and stop this? If I do, will it help, or will I just be stoned, too? Am I just as guilty for being a bystander as those throwing bricks at this man?" On and on, these thoughts continued to swirl in my mind.
I felt sick.
The crowd on the road finally cleared, and my boda driver proceeded on our journey home - a two minute venture from the scene of the crime. With the crowd dispersing, though, what did that mean? Had the deed been done? Was the man dead? I tried to get a glimpse of what I imagined a man would look like after having bricks mutilate his flesh and crush his bones.
I couldn't see him.
Maybe it was for the best. But what I could see was where the remaining crowd was looking: in the gutter of the street. It doesn't take much detective work to connect the dots. He was probably either dead, or left to die.
My boda driver proceeded to explain to me the situation. (Somehow boda drivers know information about things, as if they know before they even happen. I suppose he was simply discussing the situation with others around him in Luganda.) Apparently, this man had tried to steal something worth 5,000 Ugandan shillings (UGX), which is the equivalent of about $1.80 CAD. He then proceeded to say how one of the problems in Uganda are people who refuse to work, and then steal in order to provide for themselves.
"But look where it gets them," he said, with such indifference in his voice.
All I could think about was that this man labelled a thief is (was?) still a human being, a man who God created, who made a wrong choice, was caught, and was stoned (bricked?). Sound familiar?
There once was a woman who God created, who made a wrong choice. She was shown mercy. She received grace. No one threw the first stone.
There once was a man who God created, who made a wrong choice. He was shown vengeance. He received retribution. Many heaved bricks upon his bloody body.
Two similar stories. Two different endings.
Besides the emotional trauma of being a bystander to an event that seems so far removed from North American culture, all I can think about is the weight of God's mercy upon mankind. The smallest sin is enough to make us all indictable to have God's wrath released against us.
You. Me. Everyone.
The fact that God does not wipe mankind off the earth and release His eternal wrath upon us this very moment is a miracle at which to be marvelled, let alone the fact that He made a way for us to be reconciled with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. Only through confessing with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, will we be saved (Romans 10:9). Saved from His wrath, saved from death, and brought into everlasting life and love.
As followers of Jesus, we become instruments of God's mercy, which He uses to show mercy to those who don't deserve any. To the adulterous woman. To the thieving man.
To me.
God didn't cease saying, "Go now and leave your life of sin." It wasn't a one-time-for-that-moment-only phrase. It was a command that He calls each one of us to obey right now. Every time He forgives us and shows us mercy, He also avails us to the power of His grace - the ability to rely on His strength to follow in His ways and to live a life set apart for Jesus.
To throw the first stone, or to show the mercy of God: may God give me the grace to always choose the latter.