Don’t Throw Stones!

As a child I was told, ‘Don’t throw stones!’

However… I did have a catapult that I used to fire small stones. My friend had a catapult too. We went to a building site and attempted (successfully!) to fire stones over a house. Don’t throw stones? We weren’t caught!

And yet… When we went on holiday to the seaside, throwing stones in the sea was fun. Dad did it! Big stones made a big splash. Flat stones could skim across the surface. Don’t throw stones? Throwing stones was fun!

And then… In Sunday School I heard about David and Goliath. Young David, the good-looking hero, kills the wicked Goliath with a stone from a sling – like my catapult. Don’t throw stones? In Sunday School it’s a good thing to do!

In school… I learnt about siege warfare, about catapults invented by the Greeks, developed by the Romans, used through medieval times, as weapons of destruction. Don’t throw stones? Many armies threw stones.

And also… Both Sunday School and history lessons referred to stoning as a method of execution. I remember imagining a bunch of people with handfuls of stones. The victim up against the wall. Don’t throw stones? Stoning was used to carry out justice!

Time passed… As an adult, I’m concerned about health and safety. I see the danger that stones can cause. I tell children, ‘Don’t throw stones!’

I read…  Religious leaders bring a woman to Jesus and say, ‘This woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ Don’t throw stones? The law demands that we do!

Jesus… does the unexpected. He remains silent. He doesn’t say, ‘Don’t throw stones!’ The accusers keep demanding an answer. Jesus says, ‘Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’

The result… The woman’s accusers leave one by one. I pause. I’m sometimes like them. My guilt stands alongside the woman’s guilt. ‘Don’t throw stones’ takes on a new meaning.