Living by the Dismas Code

   We all live by codes, by sets of values and beliefs that define our attitudes and behaviours. The codes we live by not only help us understand the “rules,” (the way we are expected to live,) but also help us figure out where we fit in the “society” that defines them.

   Business people, athletes, politicians, lawyers, engineers and military personnel all have specific codes to live by. They may have different names; like protocol or practices but they are the same thing. In prison there is something called the “prison” or “inmate code” and it dictates life “inside.”  It is very much an “us versus them” structure, which pits the prisoners against “the system” or "the man."  In this arrangement, any cooperation with prison guards is judged harshly because they are considered the enemy.  The prisoner code can place a value on individuals according to the crime they committed and the length of time served. For instance, “lifers” are treated with a certain level of respect as they have survived more years incarcerated. “Rats” (informers) are not tolerated in this code and other crimes that victimize the weak in society (children for instance) are loathed. Perpetrators can be violently punished by other prisoners.  Loyalty, “being solid”, is highly valued and “doing your own time” (keeping to yourself and out of jailhouse politics) is recommended for survival.  The code is complex and specific to the culture in prison.

   Christians live by a code too.  It is Jesus’ code and found throughout the Bible, but specifically in the New Testament.  Jesus challenged us to follow his example and to obey his teaching.   The problem comes to us when codes that may have guided us in the past or that others around us hold come into conflict with how we know Jesus wants us to live.  In those moments when the codes clash we have to decide; who do we want to be? what do we want to become? and where do our primary loyalties lie? I can think of many examples of this but one that comes to mind is that of my grandfather, Rice Thomas Hopkins Horne.  He spent a significant amount of time imprisoned in Dartmoor Prison during WW1 because he couldn’t reconcile going to war and claiming to follow the Prince of Peace. Christ’s code, as he understood it, clashed with the societal code that encouraged young men to go to war.

     I remember in university residence I was given an opportunity to chose which code I wanted to live by; either the residence code or my "Jesus code."  During orientation week the other students in the dorm chose a victim to haze. Apparently there was a tradition each orientation week that included stripping a person of his clothes, tying him to a chair and after smearing him with mayonnaise, mustard, etc., putting him in an elevator of a nearby hospital and pushing every button so that, on every floor, the doors would open revealing him to anyone waiting to get on. The victim chosen that year was terrified as the gang gathered around the door to his room. He phoned my room and asked me to help.  I had to choose which code to live by- the residence code or Jesus' code. After a brief internal dialogue I did so by stepping out of my room, getting between the crowd and the fellow’s door and telling them it was not going to happen. They lost interest and walked away but it meant a few difficult months for me as I angered some in the mob.

     Those kinds of choices are before us each day- which code will determine our beliefs and behaviour? Which code has our loyalty above all others?

   Over the past few years I have been involved in something called the Dismas Network, a loose association of Dismas Fellowships across Southwestern Ontario. The purpose and vision of a Dismas Fellowship is to: “build a community of hope by enabling people of faith to get involved in creative and healing activities to persons touched by crime” and that is accomplished by "extending the hand of friendship and getting involved with an ex-prisoner through fellowship and walking together.'" (http://www.friendsofdismas.com/about-2/ministry-of-friendship/dismas-fellowship/)    Every Dismas Fellowship has a code too, and it is defined and explained by what we call the “Dismas values”. These values, the Dismas code, are based on Jesus' teaching about what a community should look like. The values reflect who we are and how we want to be.  They define how we treat, not just each other, but everyone else who steps through our doors.  Here are three of the seven values that are read at each gathering:

         1/ We welcome and celebrate one another, regardless of religious or criminal convictions, knowing that we are all "offenders."
         5/ We will treat each other's story with confidentiality and love. Each story is sacred.
 and 7/ We are committed to ministering to each other as if he or she were Christ. 

    Take time to read them again.  Is this code easy to live out? Not always. Not often. It must be a conscious choice. These values can present some real challenges, especially when they clash with other codes we have lived by.  For instance, we often find ourselves in a place of judgement over others and quickly forget our own "offences." We categorize some crimes as more heinous than others and won't forgive them, while at the same time expecting forgiveness for what we have or haven't done. In God's eyes, we all need His forgiveness, and we all live by His grace. Without it we wouldn't have a chance.  According to the Dismas code, each story is sacred because God created and is actively working in each life and that might look different in every individual- but we respect each person as God's handiwork and as someone in process. We are called to serve each other, even if we may not particularly like the person we minister to. Can I see Jesus in that person sitting before me, around the Dismas circle?

    It is Jesus and his code we now follow.  Lets listen to what he said as he spoke about how we should treat each other.

        John 13:34, 35

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

    Luke 6:35

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

 He didn’t just say it, he lived it.  Hanging from a cross, unjustly tried and condemned, tortured, reviled, insulted, humiliated he said:  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

     Now that is a new code: one to live by, one to die for.  When we grow to understand what Jesus’ code is, and as we see it reflected in his life and in the teaching, we must be willing to move from those old codes because that is what we are called to. We will sometimes struggle to accept the code, but it is worth it if we truly want to grow and leave behind our prejudices and the things that enslaved us.  Those other codes we lived by have let us down. They may have helped us survive to this point but they didn’t fill us, and didn’t help us to become who we knew God created us to be. Only following the code of Jesus will get us there.