Being Stone Catchers

By Peggy Wyar

I read the term “stone catcher” in a memoir called Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.  Because the character in his story pointed to the biblical story of the woman caught in adultery to explain the term, I went to this scripture to consider what God might want to teach me about catching stones. Let’s begin with reading this Biblical account of a woman facing her accusers in a very public and humiliating place.

John 8:2-11 NIV

“At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “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.”

In this scripture, according to the book’s character, Jesus would be considered the stone catcher. I noticed four actions of Jesus that helped me define what a modern day stone catcher might do.

The first trait I noticed was His protectiveness of the accused woman.  When the leaders brought her to Him to get His response about the Law’s requirements, He did not enter into the hysteria of the crowd.  Jesus knelt on the ground and wrote.  What He wrote was not told in Scripture, but the action disarmed the crowd a bit. They may have been unsure what to do next because He did something so unexpected. Jesus was a safe refuge for the woman by not joining with the crowd as they spoke against her.

I imagine Jesus was prayerful. He had an intimate connection with His Father, so I think He was talking with Him throughout this event. Who knows?  The things He was writing in the dirt could have been His prayers for the crowd, for the woman, and for the religious leaders.

Although He had every right and the authority to judge her, Jesus did not condemn her.  He chose to look past her sin and guilt, and see her worth as a person made in the image of God. He assured her that she was not condemned. He even convinced her accusers to walk away, just by making the right kind of statement.  The right statement or question can cause people to see their own sinfulness and then become unwilling to act against another sinner.

The last action of Jesus, her stone catcher, was to encourage her into the future.  He spoke this blessing over her life, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  He gave her the freedom to walk away and the hope that she could change.

How many people caught in sin or in circumstances not of their own making need someone willing to catch the stones being hurled their way?  These stones could be ones of accusation, condemnation, or discouragement. They could be thrown by friends or enemies, family members or communities, but the sting when they hit are all very painful.

We don’t know the circumstances that led the woman from this scripture into the sinful liaison that threatened her life, but we all have experienced the results of bad choices and sinful decisions. We can respond to the statement of Jesus, “Let any without sin be the first to throw a stone”, and drop any stones we may have wanted to throw at another.  As Christ followers, we can choose to follow His example and offer others protection, prayer, no condemnation and plenty of encouragement.

We can become stone catchers.

“Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.”  Mathew 5:7