Well, that certainly narrows it down. No? OK, I won't keep you in suspense. Lewis Powell, and his friend George Atzerodt (another name you probably don't recognize), were accomplices of John Wilkes Booth.
Booth and his accomplices originally planned to kidnap President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward (of "Seward's Folly" fame). Then, as we all know, things changed. Their goal had always been to cripple the Union by removing the President and those immediately in line to replace him. But when kidnapping proved impossible, Booth decided assassination was their only other option.
We all know Booth's name. It is infamous. Not only did he assassinate the President, but his act, all by itself, led to the extremely harsh Reconstruction period the South had to endure following the Civil War. Lincoln had made it clear he desired a kindler, gentler reabsorption of the South into the Union. With his mediating influence gone, the hammer came down and came down hard.
Booth was gunned down by Federal troops at a farm in Virginia less than two weeks after the assassination. But what about the other two guys? Powell went to Seward's house, stabbed and seriously wounded him (but Seward survived). Atzerodt could not bring himself to attempt to assassinate Vice President Johnson (he went out drinking, instead). Nevertheless, both hanged for their roles as accomplices.
And that brings us to this week's Lectionary passages. I've read two of these stories many, many times: the murder of Naboth for his vineyard (1st Kings) and the murder of Uriah the Hittite for his wife (2nd Samuel). But on every other reading I missed something, something pretty significant.
These murderers had accomplices.
I have always focused on the actions of Ahab and Jezebel that led to Naboth's death. And, of course, we know of David's lust and how it led to the death of Bathsheba's husband. But none of these villains acted alone. Jezebel involved the "leaders and nobles" of Naboth's city in her murder plot. And David involved Joab, his chief military commander, as well as who knows how many troops, in leaving Uriah alone and unprotected in combat.
We eventually learn of God's response to the actions of Ahab, Jezebel, and and David for their evil machinations. Even though none of the three actually committed the act, God punished them harshly. But we never read anything about their accomplices. I think I know the reason for that.
I doubt these other people escaped the consequences of their complicity. "What goes around comes around" has always been truth. You do, in fact, reap what you sow. But I think the reason these are not reported to us in scripture is this: because some people are leaders while most people are led, the greatest consequence must fall upon the leaders.
Our takeaway? We should look around us and consider just who it is we lead (because there are always some that follow us). Then we should take a little time to reflect on just exactly where it is we are leading them and what is we are leading them to do.
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http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu
READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 6 (11) (June 16, 2013)
1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a
Psalm 5:1-8
2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-15
Psalm 32
Galatians 2:15-21
Luke 7:36-8:3
We would love for you to join us at Lectionary Breakfast some Friday morning. We're at The Egg and I (Franklin and New Road in Waco) from about 8:00 am to about 9:00 am. Good food and even better company.
Enjoy the week!
Steve
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