October 14 – “You are excused. You may go.”

I didn't spend much time at school today.  I was called for jury duty and had to be at the courthouse by 1:30.  That was kind of unusual in itself.  Usually jury duty starts on Monday and ends on Friday.  Here it was Wednesday.  And the middle of the day at that.  I knew something strange was afoot.      That's why I asked our CSI Guy / Youth Pastor awhile back if he had any big cases coming up.  He immediately mentioned what became known as the "Baby Grace Case."  A mother and father were accused of killing their little girl and throwing her body in the bay.  It was found by some folks and the search for her identity began.  The mother's trial is already over.  She was convicted.  The trial Mike had worked on was the dad.  He didn't reveal any sordid details or anything, but he did let me know he had worked on the case.    Sure enough, I was in the first of three jury pools of two hundred or people in each.  And their purpose was strictly to choose jurors for the Baby Grace trial.  Now I have been called for jury duty many times, but I have never made it actually sitting on a jury.  And here was the biggest criminal case to hit Galveston in years.  And I couldn't serve because I knew someone who worked on the case.   After the two hundred or so of us crowded into a courtroom (I had to sit in one of the lawyer chairs).  The court clerks went through all the rules about serving.  Then the judge came in and excused those who were ineligible or who had a specific reason for opting out.  I was among the first to be called into the judge's actual courtroom.  The defendant was on one side with his lawyers.  He looked just like his photo in the paper.  The district attorney was on the other side.  We packed out that courtroom, too.   Finally, the same judge came in and introduced himself.  The principal players introduced themselves.  The judge explained the case.  He didn't try to hide anything.  He actually said, "This is the Baby Grace" case you have heard about in the paper."  He then asked us row by row to raise our hands if we felt that for any reason we didn't feel that we could be totally impartial.  As row after row were called, several hands went up each time.  And each time the judge very kindly said, simply, "You are excused.  You may go."  I double-checked on my way out to see if we were to call back each night as is the usual protocol.  The clerk said, "No.  You are excused.  You may go."    Romans 7:6 says, "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Father, it felt strange to be released from my obligation to serve just because I knew somebody.  I guess it's like getting released from my obligation to die just because I know you.  Thank you.  Amen.