Death as a Penalty

After three days of intense fog and rain the sun came out yesterday and I saw my first red bud tree blooming. Bella and I were on our usual morning walk through our little part of this mountain paradise when the vibrant purple color of the blooming red bud caught my eye.

I was in Wilmington, NC last weekend for a party honoring my dear sister/friend, Blair. Blair and her partner Inza, have just had their backyard garden redone and have planted three red bud trees across the width of the garden. They had already bloomed and the leaves were out. A friend had framed a beautiful gate with a wooden arch made from an African wood called "jarrah". It all blends together for a picture perfect view from their deck where 40 or so friends gathered for great food and conversation. For me this event was a slice of the richness of relationships that Blair has shared with me over 30 years of friendship. It was an evening to be remembered for a long time.

I have been reading a little booklet by Ghandi called, "The Message of Jesus Christ". Ghandi admired Jesus very much and believed that his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount was the essence of Jesus' teaching. Ghandi was influenced by the message of non retaliation and non resistance to evil found in Jesus' teaching. That the message of this "Prince of Peace" was so distorted by Christianity in the west was painful to Ghandi.

I was reminded of Ghandi's words this week as I read about another botched "death penalty execution" in Oklahoma this week. I first heard it reported on the BBC news and could hear the incredulity of the British reporters as they reported the torturous process of the killing of Clayton Lockett. Tortured to death would be an accurate description. Some are saying that he got what he deserved...he tortured a young woman to her death and therefore..."an eye for an eye"(Leviticus). But Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount reversed that part of the Levitical law: "You have heard it said, 'eye for eye and tooth for tooth', but I tell you do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other also..." I will be honest with you that the depth of this one statement of Jesus is hard to understand and more importantly hard to live, but the kind of retaliation that the death penalty shows is hard to fit into Jesus' teaching here.  The death penalty is not working as a deterrent to crime in our Western civilization and the fact that we are one of only a few nations that still has the death penalty certainly gives me pause. I wonder what the world sees of our "Christian nation" in this latest story of death as a penalty.

In one of his writings Ghandi said that "if Christians wanted people to feel the 'aroma of Christianity' they must copy the rose which irresistibly drew people to itself. A rose does not need to preach. It simply spreads its fragrance. The fragrance is its own sermon." This is a reminder for me of the teaching of St. Francis who said, "Preach the gospel and if you must, use words."