Scripture: Mark 14: 53-65

It is commonly said that Pontius Pilate and the religious leaders of the day of Jesus condemned Jesus to death. However, it is more accurate to pinpoint the forces that killed Jesus since those negative forces are still active today. Forces of expediency, narrow interpretation of religious laws, colonialist Roman powers, and repressive establishment condemned Jesus to death.

Not long ago, in the 1970s and 1980s, about 30,000 people died in El Salvador and Guatemala due to terrorism inflicted by their ruling governments. Terrorism was sanctioned by the officials. Death squads controlled people.

Amidst injustice and cruelty, the Archbishop of El Salvador, Oscar Romero, created a prophetic site. From that space, he spoke out for justice and peace. He challenged the dictators who ruled by terror. He also urged the US not to send military aid to the dictators who ran his country. He was assassinated in 1980.

Nicaragua also experienced brutal killings. Many mission workers responded to their prophetic calling in Nicaragua and Guatemala and spoke out publicly against dictatorship and the rule of terror. Often the dictators and tyrannical rulers of these countries were supported by U.S. military aid. Therefore, many in our country called on the government to stop sending aid to these countries at the expense of poor civilian victims.

REFLECTIONS:

(1) As people of the Way of the Cross, what are our responses to terror sponsored by establishments in other countries?

(2) How do we express our moral outrage as citizens and Christians?

(3) Are there stories from refugees in your churches who are from Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador and who now live in our midst?

(4) What are the ways in which a mission study space can be created in your church or unit to study Afghanistan and the impact of its rule on women and children?

(5) What are the ways in which a mission study space can be created to study the impact of our own foreign policy in selected countries, including Afghanistan, and its impact on women and children in those countries?

PRAYER:

O God who suffered as one of us, teach us the way of the cross, the way of peace, love and forgiveness, and grant us the will to live for you until the day we die for you. Amen.