Are you holding a stone

Last night we taped an episode of the Old-Fashioned Masonic Podcast. Bryan always does a good job with content, and this one will be no different. It is a teaser for a Masonic Ed piece I was working on, and I will add more to it. I do not want to give much away, but it will drop in June.

I woke up this morning and started thinking maybe I just scratched the surface of the discussion. It all started from a strange place.

This morning over coffee, we were sharing stories, and somehow John Chapter 8 came up. I love this story for so many reasons. For those who do not know it, let me give the highlights.

Jesus was teaching, and the church leaders had a woman who broke the law by committing adultery, and they were going to “take care of business”.  They run across Jesus and decide to ask a few questions.

Now my first question was this. If she was caught in the act of adultery, where was the guy? I mean, was she breaking the law with herself?  We will get to that in a moment.

So they take this woman and throw her on the ground and demand answers to their questions. Jesus ignores them and writes in the dirt. They get a bit huffy. He ignores them, writing more. They hound him again. He stands up and apologizes. “Oh, I am sorry, I did not know you were that big a deal, what?”  Finally, he says, “Yes, you are correct, the law does state what you claim, go for it.  But wait, those of you without sin, cast the first stone.” Now, it is my understanding that the original translation was “This Sin”.  Pretty specific, eh?

Which could explain what he was writing in the dirt. No one really knows, but I am betting he was writing the names of her lovers, who were holding stones.

Anyway, they dropped their rocks and rolled on. This left Jesus and the woman alone in the story. He asked her, “Who condemns you?” She looks around and says no one. He responds with “neither do I”.

Now I don't want to get into a Bible Study here. But this does play a bit on the upcoming episode that will air. Yes, more teaser, will have to wait till June.  Unless Bryan drops hints.

But the key here is when asked who condemns you, and she said NO ONE. That means her, too, right? But too often we forget that.

Does it mean that issue ABC or XYZ did not happen? No, of course it did. Yes, you have something to work on.  Just saying “I dug that out and threw it away, so it does not matter” is a lie we tell ourselves so we do not have to deal with the root cause of a vice or other such flaw in our character. BTW, we all have them. Look around, do you have a stone in your hand? Sadly, some days I do.

 

So what do we do once we identify a flaw? Well, I am not a licensed therapist, and I never claimed to be. But it only makes sense to me that if we are called early on in Masonry to rid ourselves of issues and burrs on our ashlar, we need to deal with the aftermath of those errors. Again, it is not just “Oh, that’s nice, it doesn’t exist anymore.”

Maybe start with the  4 Rs of self-forgiveness – Responsibility, Remorse, Restoration, Renewal.

Show some self-compassion and practice affirmations of self-worth.

Lastly, seek some professional help if needed.

I have written this really as a self-reflection. But, maybe we can apply and use some of this if a Brother, Sister, etc is struggling as well. Maybe we can drop our stones and offer a hand of compassion.

Healing does not happen overnight, and it does require work.

I love you, and may we govern ourselves accordingly