"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone". This was one of the most famous quotes from the New Testament. I recall one particularly fiery priest, who used to give rather interesting sermons at The Sacred Heart Church (especially so when he did the evening masses and had a tot whiskey with his lunch). He suggested that what Jesus was really saying was "You lot are a bunch of self righteous hypocrites and your ten times worse than this woman, who you are trying to condemn". He then looked at the congregation and said "I bet there's a few of you here who'd have cast the first stone" and then berated us all telling us that Jesus wasn't talking to the Scribes and Pharisees, he was talking to us lot, because we are just as bad as them. I think I was about nine at the time. I didn't actually know what adultery was. I was quite perturbed by the sermon. Was I really as bad a hypocrite as the scribes and pharisees?
As often happened on a Sunday, we'd meet relatives at mass and Dad would ask them back to our house for tea and biscuits. On that particular day, the relly in question was Uncle Mickey Fanning, his wife and his lovely daughters. Mickey was a great guy. He was my mums first cousin. He'd been raised in Dublin, got a degree and moved to London. He was an accountant by trade. He was not only the accountant for The Sacred Heart, he was also the accountant for the Irish Rugby Union. Mickey was absolutely mad about Rugby. Mickey only had daughters, and always enjoyed chatting with me, as I think he'd have liked a son. As he always made time to chat, I was fond of him. I mentioned about what the Priest said in his sermon. Mickey burst out laughing. Mickey said "He's one to talk, I took him to watch England play Ireland in the five nations last week, and I can assure you that he'd be first one to cast a stone at the Ireland players, when they missed a tackle. Mickey then explained that this particular priest was not only a big Ireland Rugby fan, who still played occasionally, he was perhaps the most fierce and harsh critic of anyone who wasn't 'up for it'. A week later, the said priest came up to St Vincents. They would do this every week, speak to the kids and then say mass. This priest was actually well liked and what he said was interesting. He'd do a little Q&A and often he'd give left field answers which made us think.
When the Q&A started, I asked him about his sermon and casting stones. The message of the Gospel had been that Jesus forgave the woman for her mistake. So my question was this "Father, when Jesus said let he who is without sin, cast the first stone, did it apply to Football and Rugby?". For perhaps the only time, for a few seconds, he was truly stumped. Of course, no one got stoned to death for a mistimed tackle or conceding a penalty, but they certainly got a barrel of vitriol from both fans and their team mates. His answer was actually brilliant. He said "That's a great question. I am the first to shout and complain when Ireland miss a penalty. If I was playing I'd give the player a piece of my mind. But there is a difference. Football and Rugby players are playing a sport and passions run high, the only way you improve is to accept criticism. If you are not giving it your all, then you have to take it on the chin. This is totally different to someone who is being victimised and bullied by a bunch of hypocrites. The poor woman in that gospel, did not go for a beer with the scribes and pharisees after the stoning. When you play a team sport, part of the deal is that you get it in the neck when you don't play well. But no one should be stoned to death for simple human mistakes".
As far as I was concerned, this put the matter to bed. When you watch football, it is OK to berate people when they are not playing well. I extended this to allowing myself to shout at Manchester United players and fans because I don't like them (well apart from my brother and a few mates, but you know what I mean) when I watch City play. There really is no better feeling in the world than watching United fans leave a Derby match early, when they are 5-0 down. They feel the same about us lot. Football is probably the only area of modern life where you can really let your negative feelings out.
But occasionally this throws up a dilemma. Today Manchester City play Manchester United. I will be absolutely delighted if City stuff United. But, and this is a big but, one of my very best mates is a Manchester United fan. His Mum recently passed away. He is very down. I know a United victory would cheer him up no end. How could I be so cruel and heartless as to still want City to win? I mean, there is nothing I'd like more than for him to cheer up, well nothing except a stonking City win.
The sad truth is that when it comes down to it, Fr Sheil was probably right. I am a cruel, heartless hypocrite and I should have compassion for my mate and be cheering on Utd as it would mean the world to him. Sadly, that ain't gonna happen! Come on City! By the way, it may amuse you to hear that Peter Conway, as a follow up to my question asked "Fr, what team do you think Jesus supports?". This was a far easier answer for him. He shot back "Celtic of course, who else could he support?". I totally accepted this at face value, I often wondered whether Rangers fans could be forgiven. I wished I'd asked when I had the chance.
Anyway, as we usually do, we finish with a song that recalls those days. Sunday in the 70's is a song that I particularly like. It was one of the first songs I specifically wrote for myself to sing with the band, as we'd always had a dedicated singers until 2021.
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