By the Rev. Lisa Durr, RN, MACM
Executive Director of Hope on the Inside

The Bible seems to present us with two conflicting approaches to dealing with crime and criminals.

Punishment or forgiveness.

Justice or mercy.

Crucifixion or liberation.

So which is it?

Let’s ask Jesus.

The Incarcerated Jesus. Jesus was unjustly convicted of sedition by the State, based on the shady testimony of false witnesses. He was mocked and tortured by church leaders, state officials and correctional officers who colluded to get rid of him and exploited him to send a message to anyone who dared challenge their authority. He was the naked, thirsty, hungry, abandoned, incarcerated Jesus who cried, My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me? He was the executed Jesus.

The Liberated Jesus. Jesus found the vision and power for his ministry outside the control of a corrupt, dominant religious institution. Jesus was freed from an unjust justice system, released from the pain of a bruised, bloodied and broken body, and walked out of a sealed and guarded tomb. He was a liberated man. A free man.

I often hear the following questions from people who are sincerely asking Jesus how to walk alongside the incarcerated.

 1. Is it too much to ask for accountability that names the harm and protects us from those who seek to harm us?

Punishment and crucifixion represent justice through suffering and death. It’s about condemning wrong and holding people accountable in a way that satisfies the need for retribution. It translates to punitive “eye for an eye” justice: incarceration, harsh sentences, the death penalty. While it may promise a temporary sense of “you got what you deserve” retribution for victims, it perpetuates violence and trauma. Rehabilitation is off the table, and there is a sizable risk for wrongful convictions and inequity in sentencing.

2. Do we actually have the power to liberate incarcerated men and women?

The Resurrection represents a new way of caring for the least, lost, lonely and left out. It means welcoming them to a new life and total transformation. It emphasizes healing, hope and restoration and is centered in the belief that justice can be restored, and dead men can walk out of tombs. The Way of Resurrection is neither centered in punishment or forgiveness. It is centered in life over death and liberation over bondage.

Choosing the way of Resurrection is not soft or indulgent. It comes with a great cost. It requires we admit we are broken and have no power to fix ourselves. It is an acceptance that our sin will lead to death. It is a denial of our flesh, killing it so that we might live.

3. How do we deal with crime and criminals? What does it look like?

We deal with crime and criminals the same way we deal with sin and sinners, all who are in bondage or captivity—through the liberation that comes through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.

  • Choose mercy over vengeance in your own dealings.
  • Visit the incarcerated. Search for the beautiful God-image stamped on all of them. Name it. Nurture it.
  • Teach the incarcerated to deny themselves, pick up their crosses and follow the way of Christ.
  • Baptize them in Jesus’ name.
  • Pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
  • Offer the Eucharist with its built-in time of confession, absolution, remembering and receiving in their bodies the incarcerated, crucified and resurrected Jesus.

In doing so, we collectively acknowledge that we are on common ground with all who desperately need Jesus. All who need to be set free. All who need the hope of Resurrection.

Learn more about Hope on the Inside. 

Lisa Durr is the Executive Director of Hope on the Inside. She is a retired obstetric nurse, a wife, mother and grandmother. She has an M.A.C.M. with an emphasis in theological instruction. She is an Anglican priest in C4SO, adjunct professor at Lipscomb University, spiritual director and retreat facilitator with a calling to guard, protect and nourish souls.