Becoming a Community of Stonecatchers

As we were driving home from Fayetteville last month, we were listening to Bryan Stevenson’s audiobook, “Just Mercy.” Toward the end of the book, Mr Stevenson describes an encounter with an older woman on the courtroom steps. Her grandson was murdered fifteen years earlier when he was sixteen years old, and after the trial she described how she wept with grief and another woman sat down beside her and let her lean into her for hours. She then described how the Lord led her to start coming down to the courtroom to be someone others who were grieving could lean on.   She said, “All these young children being sent to prison forever, all this grief and violence. Those judges throwing people away like they’re not even human, people shooting each other, hurting each other like they don’t care. I don’t know, it’s a lot of pain. I decided that I was supposed to be here to catch some of the stones people cast at each other.” 

This phrase hit me like a ton of bricks. I had read this book previously, but had somehow missed this: “catch stones that people cast at each other.”  Stonecatchers. What a great description of one of the characteristics that the Church and her members should demonstrate.

In John’s gospel, a woman caught in the act of adultery was dragged before Jesus by the religious leaders. They said the Law of Moses states that such a woman should be stoned to death, and what does he say? This is, of course, a trap. If he says, “do not stone her, ” then he will be accused of not following the Law. If he says, “stone her,” then he will be arrested as the one who gave the ruling to kill her. Instead Jesus says nothing, he merely draws and writes in the sand, finally he looks up and says,“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Slowly, each one of them leaves, and left with no accusers, Jesus forgives the women and encourages her to sin no more. Unfortunately, we live in a world where stones are cast continuously against anyone with even the slightest transgression. The anonymity of the internet, the shaming acceptability on Social Media, the extreme political polarization have all created an environment where casting stones is not just acceptable, but a one-upmanship competition. Even in the Church, where compassion, empathy, and forgiveness should be prominent, fear, self-righteousness, and anger have prevailed. This cannot be so. We need to become a community of stonecatchers.  

Make no mistake, catching stones is hard work and painful. Stones that are cast, hurled, and thrown come with an intense force with the full intention of causing harm: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. As the Church, we are called to stand in front of these stones, deflecting and absorbing some of this pain. Over the past couple years, I have prayed about the mission and vision of St. Matthias’. When I heard the phrase “stonecatcher”, I knew that this is one of the pieces of who we are, and who we are called to be as “Partners in the Transforming Power of Jesus Christ.” For what could be more transforming to a person who is being pelted by stones, then having someone come alongside of them to shield them and catch some. This is living a true life of the Gospel of Jesus, becoming a living vessel of God’s healing grace and love. Let us become stoncatchers in our families, workplaces, and communities.