Today, I preached to the converted.

Governor O’Malley had already spoken to the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) ministers and congregants. Repeal of the death penalty was one of the issues he discussed.

Not an enviable position for me to be in on the program.

I quoted Nelson Mandela at the dedication of the new Constitutional Court of South Africa, “The last time I was in a court room, it was to learn whether I would be sentenced to death.”

I said that the men on death row were far different from Mandela. “They have committed heinous acts. But, to paraphrase the Sermon on the Mount,” I continued, “we should judge our society by how it treats the least among us.”

Sometimes the words sing, and sometimes the audience listens to every word.

Today was one of those special occasions.