April 3, 2026
Fort Worth, Texas
The lesson from Luke. And one of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?”
And we indeed have been condemned justly for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. And then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” This is the Gospel of Grace. Thanks be to God.
Earlier this Spring, nine activists were convicted on terrorism and other charges in a Federal case here in Fort Worth, which many see as setting an alarming precedent for groups opposing the policies of the United States government. The charges came after activists set off fireworks outside of ICE’s Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado late 4th or early 5th of July. Some in the group split off from the main and began spray painting graffiti and slashing government tires. A police officer responded to the scene, drew his weapon, and was allegedly fired upon and hit by one of the activists. He survived. In April, eight of the protesters were convicted of riot, detonating explosive devices, and materially supporting terrorism. The alleged shooter was also convicted of attempted murder. The administration labeled the court victory as vindication of its crackdown on Antifa, a loosely defined term for those opposing Fascism.
Cody Cofer, a former Broadway member, represented one of the defendants. He said the case illustrates how easy it is for the State to prosecute for conspiracy to commit terrorism if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time or connected with the wrong people. The result is the effect of making the American public afraid to show up to even a peaceful protest for fear of someone somewhere may get out of hand and anyone and everyone be charged as co-conspirators. People should be scared, Cody said.
When Jesus came to Jerusalem in that last week of his life, he led a controversial demonstration against the citadel of his nation. That was either on Sunday or on Monday. We’re not sure which. What we are sure of is that on Thursday, the soldiers were sent to come and arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the melee that erupted at the time of his arrest, the slave of the high priest was wounded by the sword of one of Jesus’s disciples who was trying to defend Jesus. That man too survived and Jesus surrendered peacefully. At the trial, the Jewish authorities accused Jesus of the crime of blasphemy and of threatening to destroy the temple. But when he was brought before the governor, Pontius Pilate, the charges became even more grave. He was charged with crimes against Caesar and trying to overthrow the Roman government. He was found guilty for his role in the demonstration. He was judged as a provocateur and accomplice to the violence of his disciples. He was sentenced to summary death. He was hanged on a cross and he died between two criminals. Some translations say bandits and others say rebels. One on his left and one on his right. Roman crucifixions were like American lynchings. They were public spectacles meant not only to torture and kill one but to terrify all. So it was that this Jesus died on that day in Jerusalem. A by word and a scandal and a public example.
He died for the protest and demonstration.
He died because of the company he kept.
He died because he was deemed an enemy of the state.
He died because, well, they wanted to make everyone afraid.
So then we say: “He died for the sins of his nation.”
After the Prairieland Nine were convicted three Fridays ago, David Grabel, a Broadway member and fellow minister and one of our readers tonight, met with some of the family members. One of the mothers of one of the convicted, a woman of faith, shed tears in the presence of David and asked him, “What’s God’s plan?” Now that, beloved, is a Good Friday question. And here too is another from the words of the old Black Spiritual: Were you there when they crucified my Lord? And was it something like we are experiencing even now? Tonight, we come to be near to a man on a cross, Ecce Homo. Here is the man. Some say he was a criminal, others a terrorist and an enemy of the state. So he was condemned. Yet some of us say, some of us say: Truly he was the son of God, the savior of the world.
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