Sundays, March 20-27, 2022
Grace and peace in the Lord Jesus! We are so glad and fortunate the Savior is in our lives.We’re fully aware we are citizens of God’s forever kingdom…and…we are also fully awarethat we are totally human in every respect. This will always put us in a very special category of those “thinking and feeling” folks touched by the Holy Spirit who know we are loved and watched over, even in our darkest hour.
On behalf of all of you reading today, I want to express my gratefulness for God’s gracious intercession in our personal lives. He has made us glad—even in the “valley of the shadow”! May we more intently grasp onto the notion of Paul’s statement of “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus” and come to live within its unique glory!
I’m going to step out on the limb to share a concern that I don’t want to keep within myself, and eventually die without putting it down on paper. It has to do with what seems to me to be an unresolved human discussion that has to do with the terms … justice and mercy. To some folks, the two fall in line with each other. Actually, they are—categorically—absolute opposites. Justice has to do with the “unbending” pursuit to do with what is determinedto be right, no matter what—a conformity to a principle or law. Mercy is, to me, a literal “bending over backwards” to intercede for someone accused and/or condemned, a disposition to show extraordinary kindness.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines“justice” as the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims of punishments or rewards.
The same dictionary defines “mercy” as compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone determined an offender who iswithin another’s power to punish or harm.
With those definitions in mind, I turn to aspecific crime case that has been running inmy mind now for the last couple of years.I’m struggling with personal issues thathave to do with loving another human beingand deciding what to do with that my concern.The thought runs over and again in my mindand heart—what would Jesus do?
It involves the case of Lisa Montgomery,a 36-year old mother of four, from Skidmore,Missouri. Her story has to do with distressinginformation. I need inform you before you proceed to read the rest of the message.
Mind you, I don’t condone what she did–a terrible, unspeakable thing. Lisa killed a pregnant woman, Bobby Jo Stinnett, to take her baby, (i.e., a little girl, who eventually did survive). Her crime was a cold-blooded, carefully planned horrible crime of the first order. If a person didn’t know anything about the rest of her life, it would be “an opened and closed case”.
As it were, Lisa was incarcerated for sixteen yearsprior to her execution on January 13, 2021 at 6:00p.m. The first woman in the United States to beexecuted in the last seventy years.
If one only knew what crime Lisa had committed
and knew nothing about her perverse background, that person would inclined perhaps to say, she deserves to be executed, nothing more, nothing less. Then again, some people say our government shouldn’t kill (execute) American citizens regardless of what they’ve done. I don’t care to discuss thatimportant issue. I’m not focusing in on execution.I’m trying to determine what Jesus would do…
Let’s take a look at Lisa Montgomery’s background before the heinous crime shecommitted…
Lisa was physically and sexually abused since she was an infant. She didn’t have aday of peace and safety from the day she was born. She was whipped with belts. Jack, her step-father, used to grab her by the hair, (sweet little girl), and repeatedly slam her head against a stone wall. At the age of eight, when her older sister, Diane, left the home, men—three or four at a time—would rape and beat her, at the same time, with her mother’s consent. Later, her own mother sold Lisa for sex with male friends under thisquoted condition:
“…you have to earn your keep so I can pay the bills…”
Throughout her whole life, Lisa experienced nothingbut unbelievable personal pain and abuse from her family. I can’t imagine what kept her goingafter all those years growing up with that abuse.
The way we grow up determines by and largeour sense of values and proportion in life…
our choice of what comes first in life,what, indeed, we would choose or not choose to do… and what follows through after that…
what would be essential for us to be ethical,balanced,reasonable,neighborly persons…
What would be important in order than those essentials would be constant in a person’s life?
Did Lisa ever have a chance to develop normally?
Within our knowing what Lisa ended up doing, couldshe ever have been able to determine what was right and what was wrong? Imagine not having a single day of your years growing up without one single day of peace or blessing. As many have asked, was she an “evil person” or a “completely broken woman”?
Was she ever given the opportunity to processthe horrible thing she had done? Was she evergiven the chance to be somewhat normal?
During those sixteen years in prison, was there
a prison chaplain within the narrative? There is no evidence of a chaplain. Was Lisa considered beyond help or hope? One of her last commentswas recorded, after sixteen years of prison:
“I am a monster.”
The story of Lisa’s life story presents—in my wayof thinking—how difficult, how seemingly impossibleit would be to determine what true justice would look for a person like Lisa. Considering her criminal act, there would be no question. Then again, considering her perverse past, I personally would return to thequestions I keep asking myself, all things considered…
What would Jesus do?
What would a truly just, righteous, mercifulGod decide to do?
How would the Father intervene?How would the Lord Jesus Christ intervene?How would the Holy Spirit intervene?
And…where was the prison chaplain…?
Those sixteen years of incarceration for LisaMontgomery were the only peaceable yearsshe ever experienced in this life. Could thatbe considered an “odd Divine intervention” in the story. At the same time, she was haunted by what she had done and what had been done to her throughout her troubled life. The pressure was “on” from family, neighbors, and friends that the ultimate punishment should be administered to Lisa. That, too, I understand, but personallywould try hard to fight within myself. Lisa’s lawyerssuggested during her trial that she was incapableof understanding her impending death…
The decision finally fell into the hands of theformer President of the United States of America.He determined she should be executed. I don’tblame him for his action. I would not have wantedto be in his shoes. Date of execution was set forJanuary 12, 2021 and postponed for the next day,January 13, 2021. The execution was carried out.
The plea of her sister, Diane Mattingly, before theexecution, remains in my mind—I can’t shake it…
“I feel so powerless…I’m so hurt that for once in her lifethere would have been someone to stand up for her…”
I look forward to the Lord Jesus Christ sorting this thingout for me and to administer justice and mercy withinHis good time upon His immanent return—on behalf ofLisa Montgomery, her victim, Bonnie Jo, and her family.
I need to pray.
Lord God, the Good Book declares there will be a daywhen the Lord Jesus Christ will return to work out perfect justice and compassionate mercy on earth. That willbe a great day for all of us to behold—as we stand incomplete wonder and astonishment! Would you keepLisa Montgomery in mind on that occasion? In mymind, Lord, we’re just not fully equipped to deal with theissues involved in her life and her story. At the sametime, look with mercy upon the family of Bonnie JoStinnett as they continue to work through their grief and confusion in this incredible story. I especiallypray for Bonnie Jo’s daughter. Allow us meanwhileto continue to trust in your ability to work out all unresolved and complex human issues in ourmidst. You are worthy of the confidence we have in you. You deserve all the praise and honor. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Cordially,
Tom
This is a comment from Rev. Sue Ann Yarbrough, reprinted with permission.
I have been pondering that story. I knew a woman with a similar childhood. She attended a small church that I would periodically help with. She had received diagnoses of schizophrenia and multiple personality disorders, among others. She died of cancer a few years ago. I believe she was in her late forties when she died. The small congregation held her and loved her, even in the midst of the chaos she often caused. Yes, she was often jailed, usually in a 5150 hold, and then on to detox. The cycle would then start again. Each of her children had a different father.
However, she could sing, and when she sang to Jesus, I knew the angels came to listen. I would often be moved to tears.
The hypocrisy of Lisa Montgomery ‘s execution is a very sad commentary. Both these women reflect the unrelenting need we all have to be loved. Abuse in childhood is very difficult to rectify. The more severe the abuse, the more difficult it becomes. She really never had a chance for health and happiness. The fact that the former president could not understand that saddens me, but does not surprise me. I also doubt if he really gave it much thought. I do not think he has a moral compass, but I digress. I think her statement about finding peace in her incarceration is telling. She simply needed to live in a carefully monitored situation. I hope there was a prison chaplain who tried to assure her that she was not a monster, but rather someone who had been deeply , deeply wronged.
I also believed she was welcomed into the Love and Light of Jesus.
Bless you,
SA
What a terrible situation – we really need better care for people with mental illness.