16-23 November 2008
Whose Crime is it anyway?
Worship Meditation
Readings:
Matthew 25: 31-30
Luke 23: 32- 43
Hymns:
Amazing Grace CH4 555, HO&N 36, MP 31
And can it be? CH4 396, MP 33
Love divine, all loves excelling CH4 519, HO&N 337, MP 449,
Christ’s is the world in which we move CH4 724,
Let us build a house where love can dwell CH4 198
CH4 Church Hymnary 4th Edition, Canterbury Press
HO&N Hymns Old & New, Kevin Mayhew Ltd
MP Mission Praise, Marshall Pickering
Whose Crime is it anyway?
The theme for Prisoners’ Week 2008 in Scotland is inspired by the title of a well know TV programme: Whose Line Is It Anyway?
The Channel 4 TV show invited various panellists to improvise songs, scenarios, roles and characters. Sometimes directions came from the programme’s host, Clive Anderson, then at other times they came from the audience, so the contestants had little idea what they might be asked to do! Some of its most famous performers included Josie Lawrence, Greg Proops, Caroline Quentin, John Sessions and Tony Slattery.
Given the way the programme’s title trips off the tongue, and occupies a space in the consciousness of its many fans, hopefully the question “Whose Crime is it anyway” will similarly occupy the consciousness of many in our communities during Prisoners’ Week and beyond. The question is meant to work as a catalyst to discussion, and maybe as we talk with one another in our communities about prisoners and all who are affected by crime we will improvise, imagine a variety of scenarios, and find together something better for everyone.
Whose Crime is it anyway?
It’s a question that’s all but asked in the account Luke gives us of three convicts suffering the death sentence passed on them by the Roman Procurator Pontius Pilate. The location is the public gallows, the Place of the Skull, outside Jerusalem’s city walls.
The charge sheet has been nailed above each cross so it’s apparent to all who pass by why each person is being made to endure this unimaginably cruel punishment.
One of them is brash, a hardened soul, who even though he suffers himself is, in his last hours, hurling insults at another. He jeers saying ‘Some Messiah you! Do something to get us out of this, if you can!’ Neither is he mindful of his own offences. Ultimately he avoids responsibility, hoping to evade the consequences of his actions even perchance by some miraculous intervention. Whose Crime is it anyway? He has not yet accepted that the crime was his, and time is running out.
The second convict raises questions about the verbal abuse and urges some restraint and reflection. Whose Crime is it anyway? This penitent thief is deeply conscious of how he has wronged and has accepted his responsibility. He knows the crime was his. He has become aware of the deeper dimensions, the suffering of others, the concerns of justice, and his own spiritual condition. Turning to the third convict on a cross, the target of abuse from every quarter, the penitent thief seeks something profoundly precious: he is looking for forgiveness, he is longing for hope, and he is searching for peace. It’s a quest which many are on, many who are behind locked doors and many who are imprisoned in other ways. His request is simple and urgent: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” In his heart he has already discovered who Jesus is and in his dying moments he hears the assurance “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
‘Paradise’ - it's a wonderful word! Originally the word ‘paradise’ came from the Persian for ‘a garden’. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were renowned as one of the wonders of the ancient world. The king would honour those he chose by inviting them to walk with him in his gardens. Thankfully, many of our prisons have gardens and in each establishment there are those who work on the ‘Gardens party’ and look after the grounds. The thoughtful use of plants and flowers brings a human dimension to a setting dominated by metal fences, bricks and concrete. It has been rightly said that one of the places we can be closest to God is in a garden. By the gift of God, we are offered a taste of paradise in the here and now; by faith all who are penitent can know of a new and good future, of hope and forgiveness. Christ the risen King, invites us to enjoy his company, and with Christ by our side we can live each day aware that we are loved and esteemed in God’s eyes.
Jesus is the third man convicted of a crime and against whom sentence is being carried out this day. The charge above him states: “This is the King of the Jews”. Governments have rarely dealt kindly with insurrectionists and Jesus is no exception.
Jesus is made a prisoner, and in Prisoners’ Week it is good to recognise that Jesus was once a prisoner. Because of that we can say Christ is present with all who are in custody. “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?” “I tell you the truth,” the King will reply, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it for me.” When we find ourselves in one of life’s places where we wouldn’t choose to go, Christ is there, and prisons are given a specific mention.
We see here the very heart of the gospel, Christ dying for those who loved him not, loving us human beings when we are unlovely, interceding for those who have done wrong, and seeking their forgiveness. “You see,” said St Paul, who was frequently a prisoner, “at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ” (Romans 5:6-8). It is life-changing to sense we are loved at the point in our lives when we recognise that we cannot command such a thing.
And as we ask the question of this man ‘Whose crime is it anyway?’ are we not compelled to say that of all people the crime is not his, this prisoner is an innocent, and his death is a miscarriage of justice? Jesus is a victim too, and he suffers grossly through the violence of others. He stands with all whose lives have been changed through the wilful or thoughtless harm perpetrated by others. When, as at present, there is an increasing awareness of the impact of crime upon those who are its victims, it can be said with clarity that Jesus also stands in the place of those who are offended against. It is with all humanity in their need that Christ is present, with all who are in pain, with those who hunger and thirst, who are trapped, or forgotten, who in some sense are the victims of others. Jesus the victim and the convicted is the bridge between us through whom we can find some reconciliation for the life we share in our communities at large.
Whose crime is it anyway?
There are three scripts here – the offender who never changes; the penitent thief who is sorry for what he has done; and the innocent victim led away as a prisoner and convicted of a serious crime. Whose crime is it anyway? Any answer to this question cannot forget the fourth script, the part played by the others, the many who shouted “Crucify, crucify!”, those who colluded with the powers that wanted Jesus out of the way, the ones who washed their hands of responsibility and the others who walked away.
We regard now the punishment which all three men received as utterly cruel and barbaric. What we might wonder, will future generations make of our time in history? A time when we lock more of our citizens away than ever before – over 8000 people are prisoners in today’s Scotland. Our society is near the top in European League Tables that measure prison use. There seems to be an endless relish in the media for bad news stories about crime. Scotland has the lowest age of criminal responsibility in all of Europe – 8 years old. We might ask if we have become a punitive society instead of one that values rehabilitation and reconciliation?
Whose crime is it anyway?
If you look at the record numbers of those now in Scotland’s jails, most who are there come from areas of social deprivation.
Research published in 2005 by Roger Houchin, of the Glasgow Centre for the Study of Violence, identified that 50% of inmates come from 155 of the 1222 local government wards in Scotland (almost exactly the poorest wards). The report on ‘Alternatives to Custody’ presented to the 2007 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, pointed out that prisoners “are overwhelmingly disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals. Two thirds arrive in prison from unemployment, and three quarters leave with no job to go to; 70% of offenders have been in care. About half of those admitted to prison lack functional literacy and around 60% lack functional numeracy, with young offenders at the higher end of the scale.” Addictions to alcohol and drugs have for long been associated with crime, and the vast majority of those admitted to prison are at that time involved, in one way or another, with the use of drugs.
These patterns and statistics invite us to discuss the question of shared responsibility for the way a society like ours has developed, a society in which many in our communities are clearly disadvantaged. Could it be that everyone has a responsibility to face when it comes to considering the factors which lie behind much crime in our society?
Recent research into what might lead a person out of offending behaviour indicates that the following all make a difference:-
· employment opportunities
· accommodation
· family relationships
· positive social networks
· and self-belief.
It can be argued that as a society we all bear a responsibility for bridging the gaps and reaching out by way of support and fresh beginnings, valuing relationships and creating opportunities. In the words of Recommendation 18 of “Scotland’s Choice”, the recent Prisons Commission Report chaired by Henry McLeish, we have “a duty to re-integrate both those who have paid back in the community and those who have served their time in prison”.
‘Jesus, remember us’….. It might be the prayer we offer as we look to re-shape a society skilled in building bridges, deep in compassion, offering hope and a good future for all.