The first stone

He does not argue that she is innocent, or that the law is wrong. He moves the question from her to them, and the crowd, which a moment ago was a single righteous body, becomes a collection of individuals each remembering something. They leave, the oldest first. Forgiveness of others begins with an honest look at ourselves, not to induce shame but kinship. When you can see the ways you have been the accused, the stone gets heavy in the hand. And then: neither do I condemn you. Mercy first, then the invitation to change. Never the other way around.