We Can End This: Remarks to the Fort Worth Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty Prayer Breakfast

I believe in God…but most of all I believe in love.  If we believe the writer of 1 John, God and love are synonymous terms.  The question of the death penalty is a question of love.  How far will our love and forgiveness extend?  Will our love span the entire cycle of violence from the crime victims all the way to those who sit on death row to everything in between and beyond?  Can you love someone and execute them?  Can you love victims of violent crimes by creating more victims?  Can you love your neighbor as your self and execute their dad or brother?  I think we all know the answer to these questions.  Will we live into the answers?  Will we live into love?

The death penalty in the past has ripped and continues to rip apart the moral fabric of Texas.  We teach people not to kill by killing.  The system and cycle is as ludicrous as that statement sounds.  We can end this.  It is time that we lead the way in reigniting the moral imagination of our society.  It is time that we challenge our fellow citizens with the questions of love.  This is our prophetic responsibility.  We are living in an age desperately in need of prophets.  We can end this…but will we have to have the courage to push.

I invite you to join the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty to stop the heinous barbaric practice of the death penalty.  Now is the time for the abolishment of the death penalty.  Now is the time for love.  We can end this.

Amen.