Saturday, September 22, 2001
Saturday, September 22, 2001
No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the
LORD,"
for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I
will
forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
Peter Zenger was a German immigrant and local printer who had dared to take a stand
against the
very corrupt New York Governor, William S. Cosby. As Gov. Cosby's acts became
more
outrageous and Zenger's newspaper spoke more harshly against those acts, Cosby
had Zenger
jailed.
After 9 months, Zenger went to trial for publishing "false, scandalous, malicious, and
seditious
libel." His original attorneys had been disbarred, his current lawyer had been
appointed by a
Cosby man, and the jury had been instructed to rule only on whether Zenger did or did
not publish
the newspaper. His "guilt" as to the "libel" in the paper had already been decided by
the
appointed justice. Zenger did not have a chance of acquittal.
Then it happened! From the back of the courtroom a dignified and well-dressed
gentleman arose
and walked forward to the front. He announced that he would represent Zenger. The
court
immediately recognized the man as Andrew Hamilton, a respected member of the
Pennsylvania
Council and the Philadelphia Assembly and also the most celebrated lawyer in the New
World.
Hamilton admitted that Zenger was the publisher but pled for the right of people
everywhere to be
able to publish the truth--and Zenger was acquitted.
Somehow that scene seems reminiscent of something else that happened in history. All
people
have stood on trial for their sin. The sentence was death. However, this time the verdict
was not
the outcome of a crooked court. Every person stood justly accused. Then a man
stepped
forward on our behalf. He did not plead our innocence. He pled the right to take our
guilty place
and have us pardoned.
(Jeremiah 31:34
NRSV)
One of the more dramatic (but lesser-known) scenes of American history took place on
August 4,
1735 in New York City. It occurred at the start of the trial of Peter Zenger.
Dear God, thank you for the great gift of Jesus Christ. May I sin no more. Amen.
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