Canadians observed National Victims of Crime Awareness Week (April 6-12) and Pink Day (Wednesday) this week. The former focused on those who have been victimized by a criminal offence; the latter had an anti-bullying emphasis. As I thought about crimes and bullies, I realized that I have experienced both.
During our College years in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we lived in a high crime neighbourhood. In a period of six years, we were robbed three times. Thankfully we were out each time. But I still remember the feeling of walking up to our main floor apartment and seeing the backdoor ajar, a muddy footprint clearly visible where the burglar had kicked it in. Hearts racing, we would call the police and then wander through the place looking for the missing items. We lost a nice turntable, amplifier and speakers that way. On another occasion, someone took every clock, including an old mantel clock with a lovely chime that we had inherited from Marja's parents. Unfortunately for him, the thief left the clock’s wind-up key behind. Hey, if you want it that badly, take it all!
We felt violated and scared. Three times malicious strangers had invaded every room, rifled through every drawer. Was it the same people each time? Were they watching us, aware of our routines? What if they came back when one of us happened to be home? Or at night, while we were sleeping? Today we still always lock our front door, even when we’re just hanging out in the back yard. It’s an over protectiveness that began during our years in the ghetto.
As for bullying, I've been on both the receiving and giving end. After immigrating to Canada, I plummeted to the bottom of the class in grades four and five. I remember the embarrassment of reading the Read With Dick and Jane that used repetitive sentences like “Oh, see. Oh, see Jane. Funny, funny, Jane.” My classmates called me “The Flying Dutchman,” a term that I did not view as an endearment. For two years, it was difficult to motivate myself to go to school. Thankfully, I had a very kind grade five teacher who helped me pronounce words that began with the letters “th”.
Unfortunately, in grade 8, I joined others in teasing a girl about her weight. I still feel bad about it. I wonder whether the emotional scars inflicted by us still affect the way that she sees herself.
No-one has ever been more victimized by crime than Jesus. What made it worse is that he is the only truly innocent person who ever walked this planet. Pontius Pilate was absolutely right when he asked, “Why? What crime has this man committed?” And Pontius Pilate became the ultimate bully when he washed his hands of everything and allowed Jesus to be tormented and crucified with real criminals. For Jesus, there was neither justice or mercy.
How have you been victimized? How have you been bullied? Have you mistreated someone? Are you wounded or scarred? What’s your frightening story, your painful memory?
In the new heaven and earth there will be no burglars, no mean kids and no victims. The Innocent One entered our violent world to make that a reality. For now, while we still live in a broken world, let’s show Christ’s compassion to those who have been traumatized.
We happen to have a picture of our stolen clock. If we ever come across a similar one, we’ll snap it up with honest money. But ultimately, it won’t matter whether we get it back or not, because Christ’s return will signal the end of both crime and time.
- Pastor Peter
During our College years in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we lived in a high crime neighbourhood. In a period of six years, we were robbed three times. Thankfully we were out each time. But I still remember the feeling of walking up to our main floor apartment and seeing the backdoor ajar, a muddy footprint clearly visible where the burglar had kicked it in. Hearts racing, we would call the police and then wander through the place looking for the missing items. We lost a nice turntable, amplifier and speakers that way. On another occasion, someone took every clock, including an old mantel clock with a lovely chime that we had inherited from Marja's parents. Unfortunately for him, the thief left the clock’s wind-up key behind. Hey, if you want it that badly, take it all!
We felt violated and scared. Three times malicious strangers had invaded every room, rifled through every drawer. Was it the same people each time? Were they watching us, aware of our routines? What if they came back when one of us happened to be home? Or at night, while we were sleeping? Today we still always lock our front door, even when we’re just hanging out in the back yard. It’s an over protectiveness that began during our years in the ghetto.
As for bullying, I've been on both the receiving and giving end. After immigrating to Canada, I plummeted to the bottom of the class in grades four and five. I remember the embarrassment of reading the Read With Dick and Jane that used repetitive sentences like “Oh, see. Oh, see Jane. Funny, funny, Jane.” My classmates called me “The Flying Dutchman,” a term that I did not view as an endearment. For two years, it was difficult to motivate myself to go to school. Thankfully, I had a very kind grade five teacher who helped me pronounce words that began with the letters “th”.
Unfortunately, in grade 8, I joined others in teasing a girl about her weight. I still feel bad about it. I wonder whether the emotional scars inflicted by us still affect the way that she sees herself.
No-one has ever been more victimized by crime than Jesus. What made it worse is that he is the only truly innocent person who ever walked this planet. Pontius Pilate was absolutely right when he asked, “Why? What crime has this man committed?” And Pontius Pilate became the ultimate bully when he washed his hands of everything and allowed Jesus to be tormented and crucified with real criminals. For Jesus, there was neither justice or mercy.
How have you been victimized? How have you been bullied? Have you mistreated someone? Are you wounded or scarred? What’s your frightening story, your painful memory?
In the new heaven and earth there will be no burglars, no mean kids and no victims. The Innocent One entered our violent world to make that a reality. For now, while we still live in a broken world, let’s show Christ’s compassion to those who have been traumatized.
We happen to have a picture of our stolen clock. If we ever come across a similar one, we’ll snap it up with honest money. But ultimately, it won’t matter whether we get it back or not, because Christ’s return will signal the end of both crime and time.
- Pastor Peter
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