Brother's and Sister's in Christ
Do we consider prisoner's our brother's and sister's in Christ?
We read in Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.." I started my field education placement this week at a prison where I will work with the dying patients. One of the staff there told me she believes her vocation or her calling is to witness to these men at the end of their life. She brings them the good news of the gospel, but what really appeals to them is that she believes they are "family." She is their sister, and they are her brothers. To be connected and to have family, when so many of her patients have been discarded by those who were supposed to love them, and so hearing the word "family" redefined for them is life and light to them.
Are the prisoner's our family? Do we embrace them as we would our "real" brothers and sisters? Are we anxious to release them from the darkness they are in?
I know these questions challenge me. I know my fears as I hear the iron door close behind me. I know the depth of sadness that overcomes me when I walk into their world. But will all of that keep me from reaching into their darkness and calling them brother?
We read in Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 "The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.." I started my field education placement this week at a prison where I will work with the dying patients. One of the staff there told me she believes her vocation or her calling is to witness to these men at the end of their life. She brings them the good news of the gospel, but what really appeals to them is that she believes they are "family." She is their sister, and they are her brothers. To be connected and to have family, when so many of her patients have been discarded by those who were supposed to love them, and so hearing the word "family" redefined for them is life and light to them.
Are the prisoner's our family? Do we embrace them as we would our "real" brothers and sisters? Are we anxious to release them from the darkness they are in?
I know these questions challenge me. I know my fears as I hear the iron door close behind me. I know the depth of sadness that overcomes me when I walk into their world. But will all of that keep me from reaching into their darkness and calling them brother?
posted by williscj | 6:30 AM
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