Reflections
He’s One of Our Own
Posted on January 12, 2017 | Posted by Pastor Daniel
He’s One of Our Own – by Daniel Smith
There was a day when he was a baby
And water was poured on his head
As a Lutheran pastor read from the old green book
And called him “child of God.”
He’s one of our own.
There was a day when he was part of a family
That broke apart in its own way, as so many families do,
Leaving behind broken lives and dreams,
And broken children, like this one.
He’s one of our own.
There was a day when he played on the playground
With all the other kids, white, black, and brown.
That was before he found marijuana and prescriptions
And video games and isolation and anger. So much anger.
He’s one of our own.
There was a day. That day.
That day when his hate, ignorance, fear
And .45 Glock
Killed nine people studying scripture.
He’s one of our own.
There was a day when his guilt had been determined,
Though ours remains quite muddled,
And all that was left was to decide a consequence.
And we decided that, having killed nine, he too should be killed.
He’s one of our own.
There will be a day when our justifications
For killing one who has killed won’t pass muster,
And won’t hide the fact
That his guilt and his death is on us all, for after all
He’s one of our own.
——
Image of Mother Emanuel AME Church found at: www.emanuelamechurch.org
For more reflection on the death penalty, consider the ELCA’s social statement.
