The first one was the loudest.   It hit with a dull 'thud' that startled those standing in that embarrassed circle.   It had to have been the toughest one to drop, because the dust it raised would betray the hand that dropped it.   Who dropped the stone first?   It is a fruitful question for us to dwell upon, for perhaps in pondering the answer we can learn how to drop ours.

Was it someone guilty of the same sin?

Was it someone who that day had betrayed/hurt their spouse, and the guilt meter was running high?

Was it someone who was a victim of too many stones in their own life, and in that silence found a solidarity with the woman in the middle; who in that silence found compassion in their own heart?

Was it one of the older, wiser ones, who had taught themselves over the course of their lifetime how to recognize truth when they heard it?   And in the words of Jesus, they knew the truth...

What do you think?   Who dropped it first?   My own answer, at least for today is this: The one who dropped it first was the one who realized for the first time that they had a stone in their hands...and realized the truth about that stone...

I was doing some evaluation, review and planning with my staff at the Newman center a few summers ago.   A student's name came up whom my co-worker and I both struggled with.   And as we talked, I looked down, and found that my hand had balled itself into a fist.   Suddenly, I realized that there was a stone there, and even more quickly, I knew its name - RESENTMENT.  

I resented that they were awkward.   I resented that they were unaware, sometime socially clueless.   I resented that they were a black hole, sapping my energy; un-generous with their time and talent.   And I realized the list could go on as long as I would have chosen to put energy into making that list.   I was shocked.   How did I give them so much power over me?   And I realized how small was the room in my heart for a person who seems to show up in every community, every church I have ever been a part of.   And then I realized that I didn't want that stone in my hand, because it said more about me that it ever did about them .   That stone called resentment said more about me that I ever wanted to admit.   And I realized that I needed something new to emerge from my life.    And the only way that could happen was if I let go of the stone.

That's who dropped the stone first.   The person who realized that the stone in their hand said more about them than it ever did about the woman caught in the act.   That nameless person in the crowd found the strength to let go of their stone, because they realized that as long as they held the stone, they were as trapped as the woman before them was...

How do you learn to let go of the stones?   By realizing that you have one in your hand in the first place.     So this week, I invite you to find a stone to carry with you physically during the course of your days.   It can be round and smooth, like this one.   It can be rough and jagged - whatever seems most to fit you.   Carry it with you where you go.   Become familiar with its shape and size and weight.   And then let it connect you to whatever stone inside that you need to let go of.   As often as you feel it's weight, let it help you to feel the weight of resentment or anger or bitterness or jealousy or.... whatever the stone is that says more about you than the person who made you aware of it.   Let it reveal to you the stone(s) that you and I carry with us without our ever being aware.   And let it remind us that as long as we carry that stone, we are as trapped as the situation that made us carry it in the first place.

Who dropped the stone first?   With God's grace, let it be you and I this week.   Let it be you and I this week...