Time to practice Christian grace

oid the plain teachings of Jesus from Nazareth.

A notable example is his teaching about forgiveness. In chapter 18 of the Matthew gospel, Peter comes to Jesus with a straight forward question. “If a member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive him? Is seven times enough?” Jesus’ response was short and to the point. “Not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Following the response, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. The message is plain. If a person denies forgiveness, forgiveness is not available to the unforgiving one. The centrality of forgiveness in the Christian message is reinforced in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

From my critical Bible studies, I believe these messages are authentic words from Jesus from Nazareth. As a follower of Jesus, I must take them seriously. The forgiveness message is not comfortable. I have urges to strike back and to get even. I even try to tell myself that it is okay to withhold grace and to strike back in the name of establishing justice. Then the words of Jesus are somehow whispered in my ear. Jesus has taught me the better way.

When I do things the Jesus way, I like the results. I would now argue that the ways of grace, forgiveness and pardon are the better way, not because Jesus taught them but because they can be demonstrated to work for the good of everyone concerned.

Bryan Stevenson is a civil rights attorney. He has spent almost his entire career advocating for people who are being treated unjustly in our court/prison system. He has now published a book entitled “Just Mercy: a Story of Justice and Redemption.” It has become an immediate best seller sensation. It is being given rave reviews by major newspapers and is being recommended as MUST reading for anyone who works in the justice, court, law enforcement systems. I would add that it should be read and digested by every Christian priest and pastor.

Here in the State of Alaska we are now fighting to reduce the state budget. One of the prime targets for budget reductions is the Department of Corrections. Over the past thirty years there has been a rapid increase in the expansion of the state prison system. I moved to Alaska in 1980 and almost immediately began volunteering time to the chaplaincy program in the state prison system operated by the Assemblies of God. The program was funded by a grant from the Department of Corrections. Almost no ministers from main-line denominations participated. Participants regularly reported how many “souls” were being saved. I found myself a lonely person in the system. I began observing the growth of the prison system.

I soon identified recidivism as the key dynamic of the growth of the prison population. The victims in the recidivism process were almost all either Alaska Natives or African Americans.

The Alaska Christian Conference gave a small grant to a Presbyterian minister, the Rev. Dianne O’Connell, and me to make a study of the chaplaincy program and the prison growth and to make a proposal of changes that could be made. Our proposed program featured grace rather than punishment and the development of a network of churches that would welcome prisoners being released in the Bible tradition of hospitality.

The study and proposal was distributed to every state senator and representative, leading officials in the Department of Corrections, the governor and key members of his staff. It died a quiet death. The mood of the day was “get tough on crime,” “three strikes and you’re out,” and “lock the door and throw away the key.” A Constitutional amendment was passed to make punishment a part of the legal activity of the prison system. Another Constitutional amendment was proposed that would have allowed the prison system to end all programs for rehabilitation of prisoners. The measure was actually slated for placement on a ballot. My wife, Darlene, and I had had enough. We filed suit against the State of Alaska to knock the measure off the ballot. A quick judgment in Superior Court knocked the measure off the ballot and the case was sent on to the Alaska State Supreme Court. Darlene and I won at that level as well. In the state court annuls, the name of the case is Bess vs Ulmer. (Fran Ulmer was the Lt. Governor at the time.)

Today the Alaska prisoner population is over five times larger than it was when I first became involved as a volunteer chaplain. Today there is a loud cry that we must reduce the prison system. The moves that are being made are being driven by economics rather than morality.

As a part of my Christian commitment I maintain that the prison system should be reduced radically because punishment systems have never worked to reclaim and redeem and never will. Further, the evidence is that programs of grace, forgiveness, pardon and hospitality are proven tools in dealing with those who have run amuck of the law. Yes, I am my brothers’ keeper.

The insane building of the Alaska prison system was driven by certain segments of the Christian communities. They now live with the reality that they made none of us safer, did not reduce crime and spent hundreds of millions of state dollars in their blatant disobedience to the teaching of the humble prophet, Jesus from Nazareth.

Please read “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer, Alaska. His email address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.