Since the fall of man, there has been plenty of examples of folks making bad choices. Pride, greed, lust, pick your sin. It poisons our decisions and the consequences are grave. If you look in the news, there is plenty of scandal resulting from these bad choices. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church and even our Holy Infant community are not immune to these headlines.
I can’t help but notice, that when we see someone fall, there is something inside of us that gets excited. For some reason, we all seem to love to see someone fail. A text goes out, or a call is made, “Did you hear about so and so? Can you believe it?......” As we organize into our outraged mob, we point to the travesty and judge their actions. I wonder if one of the reasons we secretly enjoy these shortcomings in others, is that it makes us feel a little bit better about ourselves. The bar is somewhat lowered for us so we can say, “Well at least I don’t do THAT!”
Venting disgust as a group onto one person creates a sense of unity and togetherness. However, it’s always a false, unstable unity because it’s predicated on the verbal violence of gossip. The phony community of the group is founded upon a victim. Don’t you always wonder when you leave the group, if you will be the next person they talk about?
I wonder…is this kind of scapegoating and gossiping good for us? Is this the reaction we should have? Is God on our side as we point out with holy anger the sinfulness of others?
My mind is drawn to the woman at the well in John chapter 8. A woman who committed adultery is brought to Jesus by the scribes. Imagine the length they had to go to in order to catch her in the very act. There is a deep hunger and need to find a scapegoat, and it’s amazing the lengths we will go to find someone to blame. A gathering force like a storm begins to swell as they draw into their circle more “blamers”. They seek immediately a religious sanction and come to the Jesus. “The law of Moses says we are justified in stoning this woman, what do you say?" The scapegoat is usually backed up by a sacred violence. God approves of it.
Notice what Jesus does first. This is a great guide for all of us on how to handle gossip. He does nothing. He does not engage them or answer the question posed. He bends down and begins to write in the sand. Sometimes the best thing you can do, is nothing - just refuse to contribute to it.
The church fathers say he was writing into the ground the sins of the people who were holding stones. Jesus then rises and delivers his famous words, “Let he without sin, be the first to cast a stone.”
He has taken the outward violence of the group and transforms them to look inward. What started as shaking a finger in judgement at the woman, now the people are faced with their own shortcomings and dysfunction. Next time you find yourself being drawn into the dynamic power of a mob, imagine Jesus writing in the ground your worse sin. All of a sudden, it’s not so easy to throw a stone.
Christ himself was the victim of a scapegoating crowd. They gathered in force and excitement yelling CRUCIFY HIM! I always feel uncomfortable reciting those words on Good Friday. Jesus came to show that God does not sanction violence, but rather God stands with the victim. In that, a new world is born. A world predicated on compassion, mercy, and non-violence.
I see someone in the news who embezzled money. I’m outraged. But I then ask myself, have I ever made a bad moral choice due to greed? I hear about cases of sexual abuse and I’m disgusted and demand justice. But for a moment, if I set my pitchfork and torch down, I hear a voice ask, “Has lust ever corrupted your heart?”
I’m not suggesting that we accept sin, or look the other way. People should be held accountable for their actions, which happens in a just society, or with our souls at the final judgement. My challenge to all of us is when we hear of something scandalous, and the gossip circle starts to form....STOP. Don’t join in. You’ll see the disappointment immediately from the person who is wanting to gossip with you. Think to yourself - “There, but for the grace of God goes I.” And finally, look at one of our fallen brothers or sisters and say, “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you? Then nor do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
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