"The Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine:" The Tenth through Twelfth Stations

The Challenge of Peacemaking
“Nonviolent resistance to tyrants, oppressors and brutal invaders is not for fools or cowards. It demands courage and daring of the highest order. It requires discipline, training and a willingness to face death. Are there tough, brave volunteers for that kind of costly, demanding battle? Would the nonviolent troops be available to be trained by the thousands and then tens of thousands to form disciplined Christian Peacemaker Teams ready to walk into the face of danger and death in loving confrontation of injustice and oppression?”

(Ron Sider, Nonviolence: The Invincible Weapon, p. 95)

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) arose from [this] call in 1984 for Christians to devote the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war. Enlisting the whole church in an organized, nonviolent alternative to war, today CPT places violence-reduction teams in crisis situations and militarized areas around the world at the invitation of local peace and human rights workers. CPT embraces the vision of unarmed intervention waged by committed peacemakers ready to risk injury and death in bold attempts to transform lethal conflict through the nonviolent power of God’s truth and love.

During its brief history, a few CPT volunteers, like Tom Fox and George Weber in Iraq, have died during their service.  Many more CPT volunteers have sustained injuries.  One incident of injuries in the CPT Hebron Team which occurred in 2004 was covered in the press in addition to CPT reports (here, here and here):

At about 7:15am on the morning of Wednesday September 29, 2004 settlers attacked Christian Peacemaker Team members Chris Brown and Kim Lamberty as they accompanied children to school.
The children, from the village of Tuba, have experienced harassment from settlers in the past as they to school in the village of al-Tuwani.  The five settlers, dressed in black and wearing masks, came from an outpost of the nearby Ma’on settlement and attacked Brown and Lamberty with a chain and bat. All of the children escaped injury by running back to their homes.  
The settlers pushed Brown to the ground, whipped him with a chain and kicked him in the chest, which punctured his lung. They kicked and beat Lamberty’s legs. She is not able to walk because of an injury to her knee and has a broken arm. The settlers also stole Lamberty’s waistpack, which held her passport, money and cellular phone.

The witness of CPT in the face of the daily harassment, humiliation and oppression of people under occupation presents a challenge to American Christians in how we also can faithfully “get in The Way” as we tread the path of discipleship after our Lord who was crucified.

These reflections on Jesus’ last hours continue the series of Stations by Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron about their faith in the light of Palestinians’ suffering under occupation:

Join in the “Way of the Cross in Occupied Palestine,” a Lenten campaign to raise awareness of the suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation. These short reflections connect contemporary parallels to the themes found in the Stations of the Cross, a tool used for reflection on the suffering and death of Christ.

As this reality of violence runs parallel to the suffering of Christ, the campaign encourages participating churches to engage in direct actions that highlight the violence and injustice of life under military occupation in Palestine.

The Tenth Station – Jesus is stripped before the crowd
by Jan Benvie

In a final attempt to humiliate Him, the Roman soldiers stripped Jesus of his clothing. Were they aware that they could have power over His body, but not His mind? Even in death He was still greater than they.

Our clothes are part of our identity. Stripped of our clothing we can be seen as worthless in worldly terms.

In Guantanamo Bay prison the US strips prisoners of any clothing that makes them identifiable as an individual human being. All prisoners must wear the same shapeless, orange jump suit.

In Abu Ghraib (Iraq) the US guards stripped prisoners naked in order to shame and humiliate them.

Throughout the world prisoners are regularly `strip searched’ for no good purpose other than to humiliate them.

At the numerous military checkpoints all over the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israeli soldiers attempt to humiliate Palestinians by making them lift up, or sometimes remove their clothing. Any `security check’ deemed necessary could easily be carried out using a metal detector wand.

Despite the threat of these searches Palestinians continue to travel throughout their land. Here in Hebron Palestinians continue to come to the Ibrahimi mosque, to their shops in the Old City souq, and to live in their homes near the Israeli settlements, even with the risk of degrading searches at checkpoints. They stand firm and steadfastly refuse to be stripped of their dignity.

Just as we are called to accompany Christ on his road to crucifixion, so too we are called to accompany those who are stripped and humiliated by the powers of this world.

Eleventh Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross.
By Lorne Friesen

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. (Mark 15:22-24, New International Version)

The scene of Jesus being nailed to the cross is more painful than most are willing to comprehend. The use of crucifixion to execute those condemned to death was not only painful but also embarrassing and humiliating for the one being executed and their loved ones who helplessly stood by. Some of those being nailed to the cross will have screamed because of the excruciating pain. The words of Jesus from the cross indicate that he was clearly conscious of his surroundings, and was still able to speak words of compassion.

The gospel writers inform us that Jesus knew he would face death in Jerusalem. Jesus was not naïve; he understood the consequences of promoting the `Kingdom of God’, especially in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, Jesus made his journey to Jerusalem because he was committed to fulfill his divine mission. Jesus did not choose to be crucified. Rather, I believe that crucifixion was the consequence of faithfulness. Jesus was crucified, because people rejected his message and mission. Jesus chose to be faithful to his divine calling, to preach, teach and heal; the crucifixion inevitably followed. What a price to pay for faithfulness!

Jesus endured the cross, not for his well-being but for ours and all who suffer in the world. In the same way, God calls his faithful community to take upon themselves the brokenness of the world. The price of faithfulness today is still high, especially in places of military occupation and war. Courage is an essential quality if one is to confront the powers of death and destruction. It takes courage for men and women to speak about non-violent resolution to the occupation in the Palestinian Territories. Many Muslims, Christians and Jews, who have committed themselves to non-violence and stand in solidarity with victims of non-violence, find themselves targeted for death by the powers of destruction. As we remember Jesus’ faithfulness to endure the cross, let us commit ourselves again to remain faithful in the face of the violence that many people must endure daily.

The Twelfth Station: Jesus dies on the cross
by Jan Benvie

“It was the third hour when they crucified him. … Those who passed by hurled insults at him… And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,… `My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’ … With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.” (Mark 15: 25, 29-34, 37)

Jesus was mocked and crucified because He dared to speak out and challenge the powers. He was seen as a threat, He had to be silenced.

…

In the name of `security’ or `the war on terror’, many governments around the world have passed laws curtailing the rights of defendants. In April 2006 Amnesty International produced a report detailing the practice of rendition – “the transfer of people from one country to another by means that bypass all judicial and administrative due process” (part 1.1). In November 2007 Amnesty reported that approximately 300 detainees were still held without charge or trial by US authorities in Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp. Many who speak out against these unjust laws and practices are accused of supporting or appeasing terrorism.

Israel detains Palestinians without charge or trial in `administrative detention’. According to the Israeli Human Rights Group, B’tselem, Israel, in 2007, held a monthly average of 830 prisoners in administrative detention. Christian Peacemaker Teams, and other groups who speak out against the actions of the Israeli occupying forces in the Palestinian Territories, are accused of being anti Semitic.

Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me … will save it.” (Mark 8: 34-35)

We know that God did not forsake Jesus. Jesus overcame death and rose again from the tomb. Neither will God forsake us if we have the strength to take up our cross and follow Jesus. God will be with us as we speak out or take action against oppression and injustice, even when that means mockery or death.

Reprinted with Permission by Christian Peacemaker Teams

Cross-Posted at Street Prophets