As a Christian, I have been spending yesterday and this morning contemplating what Jesus went through during His last hours on Earth, the physical and emotional pain He suffered. He was, in that moment, abandoned by most of His fellow human beings, including some who had been closest to Him. I believe, it was one of the many ways in which He showed us that He truly understands our pain when we feel abandoned or ignored or betrayed or broken or less than or not good enough. I also believe it was one of the ways in which He showed us that He stands with those who have been abused or tortured, and that we should too.
When my mind contemplates Jesus being whipped, being nailed to the cross, and then being left on the cross bruised and bloody and beaten, it goes to the boys and men who languish in Guantanamo Bay, in Peshwar, and in the other American prisons, also bruised and bloody and beaten, it goes to those who lie in dirt cells unknown, renditioned or simply disappeared, who live the unimaginable horror of simply not existing to the outside world.
In my being, I know that Jesus and God stands with those boys and men and children and women, not excusing what they may have done, but saying firmly that real justice must be done, that torture and renditioning and disappearing are unacceptable. I know that He continues to call me to stand in that truth.
If you are of the Christian faith, is Jesus sending you the same message?
If you are of a different faith, is your faith giving you a similar message?
If you are a person for whom faith is not part of your life, do your ethics give you a similar message?
This is the start of a series exploring the issue of torture and what you, as a human being in the world, can do about it. Thank you for taking the step of reading this; I hope you will join me on the journey.
Standing for justice and accountability,
For Dan,
Heather