“A Single Hand Over A Single Heart”

(Reflections on the death penalty)

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

by Bruce J. Johnson

Preached on January 22, 2005 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church

Preached on January 30, 2005 at the First Congregational Church of Coventry.

The Presidential Inauguration on January 20^th has been characterized as many things, some complimentary, others not so, each very dependent upon one’s own personal perspective and political party, but in general, I think that it is fair to say that every four years, when the nation conducts an inauguration, it is a celebration of democracy. This one happened to be more expensive than most--- but hey, they’re only zeros!

The president’s speech was lofty and eloquent, a generous giver of sound bites. His final paragraph was as it should have been--- a good closer for the nation and the world:

“We felt the unity and fellowship of our nation when freedom came under attack, and our response came like a single hand over a single heart. And we can feel that same unity and pride whenever America acts for good, and the victims of disaster are given hope, and the unjust encounter justice and the captives are set free.”

(President George W. Bush, Inauguration Speech, 1/20/2005

We come together tonight/ this morning/ in celebration of our Week of Prayer Christian Unity--- something not easily achieved, but we keep working at it. We come on a night/ morning when we Christians, Catholics, Protestants and Greek Orthodox, conservative, liberal and evangelical alike, pray that one day we too might feel a unity “like a single hand over a single heart.”

But in Connecticut this week of prayer is different than most others, falling as it does in the midst of the debate in churches and communities and deliberations in courtrooms over an event that has not taken place in Connecticut for almost 45 years, the execution of one of our citizens, Michael Ross. If there was ever a time when Christians, and for that matter, people of all faiths, need to be united, it is now and it is in our opposition to the death penalty.

I thought that the piece that was done by Donald S. Connery for Northeast Magazine back on January 9^th was well done, especially something he said at the very beginning, something of which we all need to be reminded:

“In a democracy, an execution is not a dictator’s whim. The hand that provides the lethal chemical cocktail is, ultimately and collectively, the hand of every citizen and every public official.”

(Northeast, The Sunday Magazine of the Hartford Courant, p. 3.)

When or if Michael Ross is executed at 2:01 a.m. during the early morning darkness some day, a single hand will stop a single heart from beating. That single hand will be our hand.

And the polls seem to indicate that it is with the support of our society in general and would that I could say today that it would be against our will, that is, of Christians, Protestant and Catholic alike. However, I know that that’s not true. I’m sure that all of you read the polls. Nationally, 62 % of Americans favor the death penalty. In Connecticut, it is 59%. Only 31 % oppose it. Yet, in the case of Michael Ross, the percentage in favor of the death penalty jumps to 70%. Sadly, at least to my heart, the poll also indicates Catholics and non- Catholics (I don’t know what’s up with that category!) reflects those same percentages--- 60% for Catholics and 58% for non-Catholics. I assume that the non- Catholics include Protestants, Jews and Muslims and others.

Of course, in our state most religious leaders of the mainline denominations have taken a stand against the death penalty. I cited a headline from the Hartford Courant reporting on a press conference by many of the prominent religious leaders including our United Church of Christ. The headline was: “A Stand Against Inhumanity.”

(The Hartford Courant, 1/13/05, p. A6)

This is a stand we must all make.

The other day I was reading a statement from the report of the National Jewish/Catholic Consultation. (March 1999) Here is something that report quotes from the address to the Massachusetts Legislature by Jerome Somers, Chairman, Board of Trustees for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations:

“In biblical times, capital punishment was a search for justice when justice seemed impossible to reach. As the rabbis did years ago when they considered the use of the death penalty, let us take the time to ask ourselves some relevant questions. Is justice reached when we are taking the chance of killing an innocent person? Is justice reached when we re discriminating against minorities in our death sentences? ‘See that justice is done’ the prophet Zechariah proclaims. If justice is done by legalizing the death penalty—and it is not--- human decency and biblical values that stress the sanctity of life require that we put an end to the grisly march of legalized death.”

And from the national Catholic Conference, these words:

“Respect for human all human life and opposition to the violence in our society are at the root of our long-standing opposition to the death penalty. We see the death penalty as perpetuating a cycle of violence and promoting a sense of vengeance in our culture. As we said in Confronting the Culture of Violence: “We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing.”

We oppose capital punishment not just for what it does to those guilty of horrible crimes, but for what it does to all of us as a society. Increasing reliance on the death penalty diminishes all of us and is a sign of growing disrespect for human life. We cannot overcome crime by simply executing criminals, nor can we restore the lives of the innocent by ending the lives of those convicted of their murders. The death penalty offers the tragic illusion that we can defend life by taking life.”

(Statement of the Administrative Committee of the United States Catholic Conference, March 24, 1999)

I have read the Bishop’s letter that was sent out to all Catholic churches in Connecticut. It was sent out in cooperation with other denominations and the Connecticut Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty—CNADP. Attached to the letter is a resolution. As good as the resolution is, however, it really isn’t good enough. Yes, it cites the United Nations and its position. It also notes that the majority of civilized nations around the world have already abolished the death penalty. It mentions all the other reasons too, among them:

1. It is not deterrent.

2. It is racially biased, arbitrary and capricious

3. It disproportionately affects the poor

4. And certainly not least important is the fact that the justice system itself is fallible and with DNA testing, it can be proven in error and has—over and over again!

There is something about the resolution that is unsatisfactory. What bothers me is that it does not mention Jesus and what is required of us as disciples or followers of Jesus, and this isn’t a Protestant and Catholic issue. This is a Christian issue, and surely that is the fundamental basis of any hope we have for finding unity.

We are all disciples of Jesus, seeking to know his will and follow his way.

I think that the Reverend Walter Everett, pastor of the United Methodist Church in Hartford, who made news when he public ally forgave the man who had gunned down his son, is right when he says:

“This is not about Michael Ross. It’s about who we are, as the people of Connecticut. Do we want to continue to act in vengeance by doing the very thing that we abhor?” (Hartford Courant, 1/26/05, A11)

It is about who we are, not only as the people of Connecticut but more importantly, as Christians who live in Connecticut.

One of favorite preachers is a man named Tony Campolo. I just loved a paragraph from one of his sermons: “Being Upbeat in a Downbeat World”:

“There’s more to being a Christian than just believing the right stuff, than just having the right doctrine, having your head in the right place. To be Christian, you must open yourself up and invite the spirit of God, to invite Jesus, to invite the Holy Spirit to invade you, to possess you, to take possession of you. And here’s the phrase: to lead you.”

To me, that’s the critical factor and force in this dialogue. I may not be all that sure about a lot of things in matters of faith and witness but of this I am absolutely, positively, sure. I just can’t imagine Jesus leading me to that place where I put my hand on the button that will stop the heart of another from beating, especially when there are alternatives.

Ironically, I did find a resolution that I really liked, from of all places, Texas and the Texas Conference of Churches. The resolution was written and submitted on February 24, 1998, to you know whom, the Governor of Texas at the time, George Walker Bush.

What do you think of this one?

Resolution Opposing the Death Penalty

Adopted unanimously by the General

Assembly of the Texas Conference of Churches

February 24, 1998

WHEREAS the Texas Conference of Churches, in 1973 and 1977, and many of the churches and judicatories belonging to the Texas Conference of Churches have made clear statements in opposition to and calling for the abolition of the death penalty; and

WHEREAS the bible does authorize every government to “bear the sword” (Rom. 13:4) and the governments and nations of this world are also called upon to care for “the least of these brothers and sisters” of Christ (Matt. 25:40) thus imposing upon each government and nation the obligation to respond to human situations and crises with justice and mercy; and

WHEREAS Jesus clearly rejected any ideas of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” (Matt 5: 28-39), and the God of Israel insisted that “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” (Deut. 32:35); and

WHEREAS in our modern society we have means of keeping an offender from harming others. Although in previous times people of faith have employed capital punishment, today we have the ability to realize better the principles of mercy, forgiveness and unconditional love for all people as evoked in the Hebrew Scriptures by the Prophet Ezekiel: “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back from your evil ways.” (Ex. 33:11) * and

WHEREAS the evidence is overwhelming that racism, classism and economics are governing factors in administering the death penalty; and that greater numbers of people of color are executed than is reflected in the general population; that mentally incapacitated people and far too many poor and uneducated people have been executed thus demonstrating the injustice of the current practice of exercising the death penalty; and

WHEREAS we believe that the compassionate example of Christ calls us to respect the God-given image found even in hardened criminals, and we stand in solidarity with the profound pain of the victims of brutal crime,* therefore be it

RESOLVED that the Texas Conference of Churches in Assembly in San Antonio, February 24, 1998, calls on the State of Texas to put an end to the practice of exercising the death penalty and reaffirms its previous resolutions in 1973 and 1977 in opposition to the death penalty; and be it further

RESOLVED that all judicatories, churches, members and caring citizens acknowledge our complicity in the continuing use of and support of the death penalty. When we are silent in the face of injustice, cruelty or oppression, our silence becomes our assent; and be it further

RESOLVED that we call upon all judicatories, churches, members and caring citizens to work in every way possible to oppose the death penalty and to work to create a humane, just and decent society; and be it further

RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be given publicity within the churches of the Texas Conference of Churches, sent to the Governor of Texas, the Lieutenant-Governor, the Attorney General, to the members of the Texas Legislature, to candidates for these offices and to the Chair of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

*These paragraphs are quotations from the Statement of the Catholic Bishops on Capital Punishment, October, 1997.

Now, tell me, doesn’t that sound better for we who are Christian? In addition to, and in fact, more important than all the sociological reasons for being opposed to the death penalty is the simple but fundamental truth that as followers of Jesus, the Christ, we can take no other stand.

Therefore, ought the issue be resolved in all of us today? Our response must be like a single hand over a single heart. Yet, that single heart is made up of many hearts, heart that are made ONE in Christ and ONE in their opposition to the death penalty as well as ONE in our commitment to create a more humane and merciful, just and forgiving and of course, more loving society and world.

I am certain that Jesus would have it no other way!

Amen