Scripture: Matthew 26: 55

When Judas comes to betray Jesus in the vicinity of the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus takes a deep look at the crowd of people who are armed with clubs and swords. He asks them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit?" (NRSV) Matthew 26:55. The word "bandit" here refers to one who incites and leads a rebellion.

However, the word "bandit" has more than one meaning in other contexts. Bible scholars say that the same word, as used by Josephus, a historian of Jesus' times, also refers to "terrorists/freedom fighters who offered armed resistance to the Roman occupation" (The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VIII., p.478).

From the Roman point of view, the bandits who were hanged on either side of Jesus at the cross may have been "terrorists." However, they may have been "freedom fighters" from the point of view of the occupied, colonized zealous members of Palestine of Jesus' day. The word "terrorism" is fraught with complexities. There is a problem of definition. Therefore, one needs to make a distinction between the doer and the deed.

A helpful way of naming the doer and the deed is suggested by Peter C. Sederberg in his book, Terrorist Myths, Illusion, Rhetoric and Reality. He urges his readers not to confuse the actor (terrorist), the action (terrorism), and the effect (terror). He says,

"...the inclination to equate sin with sinner (or terrorism

with terrorist) may be an inevitable shorthand in everyday

relations, but it impairs analysis. Once we apply such a

label, that is all we tend to see" (29).

Name the sin. Name the evil. Avoid the temptation to categorize people by one of their acts. The primary, defining characteristics of terrorism are (1) non-combatant targets and (2) indiscriminate attacks, according to Sederberg.

On September 11, 2001, we joined the myriad women and men, children and youth who experience terror every day in their lives. We have become vulnerable but connected with many thousands of people in their suffering and vulnerability.

Further, terrorism is not a God-sent act. Terrorism is a human-designed, human-executed act. In Jesus' days, when anxious people asked why the Tower of Siloam accidentally fell and killed many people, Jesus said that it was a calamity, and the people who were killed in the tragedy were not worse sinners than others who lived in Jerusalem (Luke 13:4). Let us not confuse human acts with God's acts in times such as this.

Also, let us distinguish a terrorist attack from a war. Terrorist acts, in whatever forms they arrive, are not God-sent!

REFLECTIONS:

(1) According to Sederberg's definition, was the September 11th event a terrorist attack or a war? How did the media describe the event?

(2) Read Luke 9:51-56. Are the disciples of Christ suggesting terrorist tactics here? What is the response of Jesus?

(3) "O God, Our words cannot express
The pain we feel this day
Enraged, uncertain, we express
Our need to bow & pray."

By Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

(Tune: O God Our Help in Ages Past)

What are some of the songs and hymns which offer consolation to you in times such as this?

(4) What are some of the verses from the Scripture which offer you strength and wisdom for the living of the day? Get a free copy of the booklet, God is Our Shelter and Strength: Words of Comfort and Hope from the Bible from the American Bible Society, 1565 Broadway, NY, NY10023. Call at 1-800-32-BIBLE. website: www.americanbible.org