Guilty All the Same

To Throw the Stone     John 8:1-11 (The Message)

8 ^1-2 Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down and taught them.

^3-6 The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something incriminating so they could bring charges against him.

^6-8 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.

^9-10 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. “Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?”

¹¹ “No one, Master.”

“Neither do I,” said Jesus. “Go on your way. From now on, don’t sin.”

I lived my adolescent years through young adulthood in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. I guess I would be what is classified as a Generation X-er.  Basically, what that means is that I grew up with the most innovative, alternative, unplugged, heart on your sleeve, full-out grunge and punk, shout your pain and your wry sarcasm music ever written.  Hands down, don’t argue with me.  Other generations wish they had my music, but it is mine.

You can imagine how elated I was to discover last month, that amid all of the Rianna and Justin Beiber stations, up popped  (and let me shamelessly plug it) 95.3.  It’s pretty much music from my high school and college days with some new stuff thrown in.  Last night I heard a familiar sound from my college days, but didn’t know the song.  It was called “Guilty All the Same” and sang by a band called “Linken Park” that debuted in the 90’s but hit their stride around 2003.  Bunch of raging punks.  They weren’t my “style” of music at the time or now, but these lyrics of their newest song grabbed me.

"You're guilty all the same
Too sick to be ashamed
You want to point your finger
But there's no one else to blame"

In the song, they are basically shaming all of society, from the church to the big music labels.  But the chorus has stuck with me because… it’s the truth.  The people of the church are guilty of the same. Guilty of greed. Guilty of lust. Guilty being hypocritical. Guilty of being judgmental. Guilty of presenting a pretty face to the public and then being ugly to our families. Guilty of sin. Hands up, we are guilty, guilty, guilty Linken Park! 

Are we too sick to be ashamed?  I don’t know about that one.  Perhaps that is how it appears to the world, but I believe we are ashamed.  We are eaten up inside by our sin and the contradictions that our lives are to what we profess to believe. 

Perhaps that is why we point fingers so vigorously at others. Maybe it’s why we have an unspoken sin rating system.  We can feel a little better about our sin if others have committed “bigger” sins. We can shout loudly about the sins that we know we would never commit. No we would never murder. We would never have an abortion.  We would never…cheat?   Lie?  Gossip?  Throw stones?

We all learned in elementary school not to point the finger at someone else because you have three more pointing back at you when you do. The same is true for Christians.  The difference is that we don’t have to exist in a state of darkness and sin.  We have forgiveness. We have forgiveness, not a “get out of jail free” card.  That is what Bonhoeffer would call “cheap grace”.  We are not a “Not perfect, just forgiven” bumper sticker.  No, what we have is a costly release from the bondage of our sins and the opportunity to live differently. A new life paid for with a life. We don’t have to be the same sinner we’ve always been.  That doesn’t have to be our identity.  We are free to go and sin no more.

Yes, we are guilty, but through forgiveness, we are free to change. We are free to live differently, to love differently, to try to be more like Jesus, who was not “guilty of the same”.

Prayer: Holy God, help us not to point but to love.  Help us to "go and sin no more". Help us to be more like you. Amen.