Obituary:
Gangster Al Capone
From a tombstone in Mt. Carmel Cemetery; Chicago, Illinois we have a three word inscription…
“My Jesus Mercy”
And what haloed saint uttered so sublime a prayer? Why, none other than the notorious gangster Al Capone.
Capone, as in the infamous Chicago Valentine’s Day Massacre?, the day when Capone’s thugs machine gunned down a rival gang in a garage? Capone, the bootlegger, killer, and tax cheat? His tomb reads “My Jesus Mercy”?
Mercy!
I can’t tell you Capone surrendered his life to Christ because I don’t know. God knows. When convicted of tax fraud, he spent 7 years in Alcatraz prison deteriorating of complications from syphilis. When released, he lived quietly in Florida until his death from heart failure.
It is easy to forget that it’s the wicked who sometimes more readily recognize their dire need of mercy. God asks, “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?… Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?”
Capone’s tomb boasts the perfect Sinner’s Prayer, “My Jesus Mercy.”
In the light of eternity, what will they put on your tombstone?
Bryan Hupperts © 2009
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