Witness of Repentance and Hope
by Art Laffin
On the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ,
on the 65th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Hiroshima,
thirty peacemakers witness at the Pentagon
in repentance for the murderous crime of incinerating an entire city.
We witness in sackcloth and ashes at the center of warmaking on our planet,
in prayerful repentance for this colossal act of violence,
in prayerful intercession for the more than 140,00 victims–
who are no more.
We witness in resistance to the nuclear sin,
a sin premeditated and mortal,
a sin still unrepented for,
a sin that continues to threaten the survival of the human family.
As I await arrest with Billy, Crissy, and Nancy,
I reflect on the Bombs’ victims–
the burning children, the charred bodies, the shadows on the rock.
I pray for the survivors who, risen from the dead, cry out for nuclear abolition.
We witness in the hope
that love is stronger than the forces of death,
that a disarmed world can become a reality,
that all nuclear weapons can be abolished–Now!
Dear Jesus,
transfigure our hearts,
transfigure our lives,
so that we can become channels of your peace, mercy and nonviolent love.
Art Laffin, Bill Frankel-Streit, Nancy Gowan and Chrissy Nesbitt, wearing sackcloth covered with ashes, were arrested near the Pentagon metro entrance where they poured ashes and knelt in silence for thirty minutes holding photos of Hiroshima victims. They were charged with “failure to obey a lawful order” and will face trial on October 22, 2010, in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.
