Good Friday: Sand and Stone

The story is told of a woman brought before Jesus and his being asked what should be done with her. She was a sinner, they said, and the on-lookers were ready to heave judgment upon her like rocks. Seated, Jesus doesn’t even look up. He speaks to the crowd while tracing his fingers through the sand. 

What was he writing? Maybe it was the word “sinner” or maybe a list of what she did wrong. Whatever it was, the words were written in sand. Later, after everyone left, the desert winds came and blew away the sand and the words with it.

Later, Jesus would communicate another message to an on-looking crowd. Not in sand, where winds erase, but in stone: “Father, forgive . . . You will be with me in paradise . . . It is accomplished.” Although delivered two thousand years ago, the words remain. They bring people to their knees still.

On Good Friday, it is fitting to reflect on the words written in sand and stone. In the sand are all the things we have done wrong, and, if your list is anything like mine, it is longer than we would like. Today, however, is a day to rejoice in the fact that such words are taken away by the winds of grace. 

It is also a day to remember the other words, the ones written in stone: “Father, forgive . . . You will be with me in paradise . . . It is accomplished.” They cannot be blown away, only read over and over again, for two thousand years and counting!

Thanks be to God.