“All praise be to Allah in every situation,” these are the final words of Marcellus Khalifa Williams before the state of Missouri lynched him.
Never have I seen a more palpable declaration of faith, and yet I see the very antithesis of this graceful acceptance of one’s finality in Gov. Mike Parson, whose impotence resulted in Williams’ lynching. Williams’ grace mirrored the words of Christ, who despite the brutality of his crucifixion managed to utter the words, “forgive them father, for they know not what they do.”
What makes me furious about Williams’ lynching is that Parson knew exactly what he was doing. Despite the outcry of millions of Americans, he chose to facilitate this evil anyway.
Parson, like me, claims to be a Christian who upholds his faith, but Christianity is less about what we claim and more about what we do. Parson’s actions make clear that he not only would have cheered for Christ’s crucifixion, but he, like Pontius Pilate and Julius Caesar, would have faithfully carried it out. Parson’s actions remind us of the evil that effectuates when we forget our calls as Christians to center the love and mercy of the one who rendered it onto us.
Even if Parson considered Williams guilty, the Bible makes clear that, “vengeance is the Lord’s.” We are not worthy to judge another in this manner and we certainly aren’t worthy to be making decisions of life and death. When Parson allowed the lynching of Marcellus to be carried out, he showed himself to have the temerity to attempt to play God and that, as we know, is a very dangerous game.
“Thou shall not kill,” says the Lord, and yet the Christian governor of the state of Missouri effectively did so. I cannot say that I do not hold tension in my heart about Parson, for I am human, but I am praying for his soul today as much as I am for Williams. I pray that Parson repents. I pray he meets Marcellus in the streets of Zion and begs for forgiveness. I pray God has mercy on his soul.
In tandem, I also pray for the abolishment of the vile anathema that is the death penalty. No civilized society that seeks to honor the dignity of human life should ever seek to kill their own. May we all reflect on and repent for Williams’ death as we remember that the nation we call home lynched him in our name. I hope his memory will be a blessing for his surviving family, and may he rest in power next to the creator to whom he considered all praise to be worthy.