Like a Criminal
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Journey to the Cross and Beyond Day 6 – Like a Criminal Children will need a loving adult to talk with them about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Adults will need time to read one or more of the biographies of martyrs provided at the end of this file. Children’s Version ~Station 6 Like a Criminal As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate…So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. Mark 15:1, 15 – 20 The Roman soldiers made fun of Jesus. They beat him and crucified him. They didn’t do it because Jesus had done anything wrong. They did these things because they were afraid of Jesus. They were afraid that Jesus would change the world and they wouldn’t be in charge anymore. They wouldn’t be able to take things away from the poor. They wouldn’t be able to frighten people with their swords. Jesus isn’t the only person who has been killed because people were afraid of him. Look at this picture above. It’s of someone you probably already know. Martin Luther King, Jr. also died because people were afraid he would change their world. What did MLK try to change? What would you like to change in our world today? Adult Version - Station Like a Criminal As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate…So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. Mark 15:1, 15 – 20 Jesus went to Jerusalem to demonstrate God’s love in a dangerous time. He faced civil and religious authorities with the power and will to destroy him. He went anyway. Throughout the ages, there have been people for whom justice, freedom, peace, humanity, compassion, or simply faith were more valuable even than their lives. Throughout the ages there have been others who were willing to end their lives. Scroll through the brief biographies in the pages below. Look at the pictures and read about these remarkable martrys. Some of them will be familiar. Some will not be. Some are Christian. Some are not. All of them found a cause more valuable than everything they possessed on earth More precious than life itself. For what cause would you be willing to speak truth to power? For what cause would you be willing to risk everything? For what cause might you take up your cross and follow? Stephen Bantu Biko His Background: Steve Biko was born in 1946 under the apartheid regime in South Africa. He was educated in medical school and worked on setting up legal and medical clinics for blacks. He was actively involved in politics. His Causes: Empowerment of blacks in South Africa and the abolition of apartheid. His Actions: Mainly he led organizations which worked against apartheid and its consequences, helping black people in South Africa to improve their lives as much as possible. One group he led brought together roughly 70 different black consciousness groups in Durban. Another supported black workers whose unions were not recognized under the Apartheid regime. The Consequences: Between August 1975 and September 1977 the South African government detained and interrogated Biko four times. On 21 August 1977, as part of an “interrogation” Biko was beaten, sustaining severe head injuries. The doctors who were called to examine him found him lying naked, shackled to iron bars. He was left in the cell until September 11 when he was finally transferred to a hospital. He died of his injuries on September 12. Maura Clarke Ita Ford Dorothy Kazel Their Background: Maura, Ita and Dorothy were American nuns, working for the Catholic Church in poor villages in El Salvador in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their Cause: Democratic reform and land reform in Latin America. Their Actions: They worked among the peasants, raising concern for their well-being. Some of those they assisted had ties to people working against the oppressive government. They were perceived as “aiding and abetting” rebel groups. The Consequences: In December 1980, they were abducted by government soldiers, raped and shot to death. Their van was burned and their bodies were left lying in a field. The soldiers, convicted of the crime in 1997, claimed that they had been ordered to “liquidate” the women. Kudirat Abiola Her Background: Mrs. Abiola was a business woman in Nigeria, whose husband ran a successful opposition party campaign for president in 1993, but the military annulled the elections and arrested him. Mrs. Abiola had worked on several social causes in her country, including educational initiatives. She began working on democratic reform and justice along with oil field laborers. Her Cause: Free and open elections, more equitable distribution of oil revenues, education for the poor. Her Actions: Outspoken criticism of the military junta and a general strike to protest her husband’s arrest. The Consequences: She was arrested for “making false statements.” Released pending trial, on June 5, 1995, her car was attacked in the street by unknown assailants. She and her driver were killed. She was 44. Mehdi Dibaj His Background: Mehdi Dibaj was born in 1934 into a Muslim family. As a young man he became a Christian, and later a pastor in Iran. His Cause: Quite simply, Dibaj wished to live as a Christian in a non-Christian country. His Actions: When arrested for not being Muslim, Dibaj refused to give up his faith. He stated: 'I am not only satisfied to be in prison for the honor of His Holy Name, but am ready to give my life for the sake of Jesus my Lord.' The Consequences: In 1983, he was arrested and imprisoned without trial He was systematically tortured and held in solitary confinement in an unlit 3’x3’ cell. After a worldwide outcry, in 1994, he was released. But 3 days later, he was abducted and killed. His body was found in a park in west Tehran. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi His Background: Gandhi was born in colonial India (part of Great Britain) in 1869, and educated as a lawyer at Oxford. He was an active Hindu. He worked for two years as a lawyer in South Africa and then moved back to India. His Causes: Institutionalized racism in South Africa, home rule for India, religious tolerance in India. His Actions: He organized passive resistance campaigns in South Africa against racial discrimination and in India working toward its independence from Great Britain. The campaigns were extensive but non-violent on the part of the participants. Often those participating were beaten, jailed or killed by the governments being protested. After independence he worked extensively to build tolerance between Muslims and Hindus, once fasting until violence between the religious groups stopped. The Consequences: He was beaten and imprisoned many times in South Africa. He was occasionally arrested by authorities during his campaigns for home rule, serving time from 1922- 24. On January 30, 1948, a Hindu fanatic upset over Gandhi’s religious views, shot him to death on his way to an evening prayer meeting. Jan Hus His Background: Jan Hus was born about 1390 in what is now the Czech Republic. He became a Roman Catholic priest and professor at the University of Prague. His Causes: The end to the practice of indulgences, the translation of the Bible into languages common people could understand, opening Holy Communion to the laity and reliance on the Bible as the central authority for Christian life. His Actions: He preached, wrote and translated the Bible into Czech. He painted the words to hymns in Czech on the University Chapel walls so common people knew what was happening in worship. He loudly advocated the end of the sale of indulgences. The Consequences: In 1415, at the Council of Constance, the Church authorities tried him for heresy – mainly for translating the Bible. He was imprisoned, catching pneumonia in his dank cell; he was defrocked; his books were burned; then on July 6, 1415, he was burned alive. David Kato Kisule His Background: David Kato was born in 1964 in Uganda.