If you are arrested ... (Mat. 27)

Alexander Solzhenitsyn's magnificent epic The Gulag Archipelago begins with a description of being arrested. You've been walking past discrete doors for years, assuming that they have nothing to do with you. Then, suddenly, a pair of neatly manicured, but strong, hands reach out. And the universe is shattered. After all, each of us is the center of his own universe.

Or maybe you're walking through a university housing area after stopping by to see a friend, quietly minding your own business, and an overbearing rent-a-copy asks to see your driver's license. "Why?" you ask, in honest curiosity. "Because I asked you to," he replies, and an incredibly stressful 15 minute conversation ensues. You suddenly realize that America, "the land of the free and the home of the brave," has become a police state while you weren't looking. The old Nazi command, Zie papieren, bitte, the internal passport, has come to our shining shores.

And then you start to notice how many cop shows acclimatize us to the notion that armed military assaults on American civilians are normal. Agents clad in military regalia, carrying military weapons, following military tactics, smash open doors and barge in shouting "FBI! FBI!" And you find yourself recalling how the largest government massacre of civilians since Wounded Knee -- more than 80 men, women, and children burned to death inside their own church -- began as an FBI publicity stunt.

Hey, fellow frogs, the heat is slowly being turned up on our kettle.

I recently read an incredibly detail and helpful "how to" essay on dealing with police, but haven't been able to track it down since. This essay contains much of the same information. You may have to be patient -- the server takes a while to respond.

Or, for a handy wallet-sized summary, you can go here:

Bottom line: NOTHING you tell a curious cop can do you any good. ANYTHING you say can and will be used against you. Remember the Magic Words "I am going to remain silent. I want a lawyer." Practice saying these Magic Words -- in front a mirror, in drills with friends -- until you can automatically recite that mantra during one of the most stressful moments of your life.

So what does this have to do with the Bible? Well, Jesus was arrested on trumped-up charges. If' He'd had sense enough to keep His mouth shut, The Man would not have had anything to charge him with.

Başkahin ise O'nun, "Yaşayan Tanrı adına sana yemin ettiyorum, söyle bize, Tanrı'nın Oğlu Mesih sen misin?" İsa, "Söylediğin gibidir" karşılığını verdi. "Üstelik size şunu söyleyeyim, bundan sonra İnsanoğlu'nun, kudretli Olan'ın sağında oturduğunu ve göğün bulutları üzerinde geldiğini cöreceksiniz."

Today's words:

• Söylediğin -- as you say
• gibidir -- so it is.
  

If Jesus had stopped there, things could have turned out differently for Him -- and for those of us who have been redeemed by what happened next. But, He had to go ahead an incriminate Himself.

Folks, keep in mind that we can very easily talk way too much when in stressful situations. Memorize the magic words, use them, and you just might save yourself a world of trouble.

And the world isn't depending on you for its salvation, anyhow!