Obey God

Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

But Peter and the Apostles said in reply, “We must obey God rather than men.”  Acts 5:29

For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God.  He does not ration his gift of the Spirit.  John 3:34

Piety

 "Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live."  (Deuteronomy 30:19)

Study

God does not ration His gift.  He sent His only Son not to condemn us but to save us.  The Paschal Mystery was revealed to us again on Easter Sunday, less than 12 days ago.  We relive and remember every day in Mass. 

God does not ratio His gift no matter what we do. When His Son was convicted, God did not ration His gift.  When His Son walked to his execution, God did not ration His gift.  When His Son hung, nailed to a primitive wooden cross, God did not ration His gift.

Resurrection happens.  Redemption happens.  Forgiveness and mercy happen…all because God does not ration His gift.

Action

What convicted murdered Clayton Lockett did was horrid.  Clayton Lockett was fairly tried in the courts of Oklahoma.  Clayton Lockett was justly convicted of his crime.  Clayton Lockett was sentenced to death for first-degree murder, and more than 2,285 years in prison for his other convictions from his robbery, assaults and killing deeds on June 3, 1999. 

Clayton Lockett deserved to live the rest of his days locked inside the prisons of the state of Oklahoma.  However, the state heard the cries of “Execute him!  Execute him!”  On Tuesday night, they strapped Clayton Lockett on a gurney and experimented with a new way to kill.  News reports tell us that his vein exploded.  The end result was still the death of Clayton Lockett.  But the means are what is in question.  Are any forms of state-sponsored murder humane?  Was crucifixion humane? The gas chamber?  The guillotine?  The gallows? 

What is clear is Sacred Scripture and the Bible.  God did not ration his love.  We must obey God rather than man.   Four days after Divine Mercy Sunday.  Twelve days after the Easter Vigil. 

“The dignity of human life must never be taken away, even in the case of someone who has done great evil. Modern society has the means of protecting itself, without definitively denying criminals the chance to reform.”  St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 1995

Oppose the death penalty.