Paul did not have an easy time preaching the Good News of Jesus throughout the ancient world. Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten with rods, and thrown into prison for proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Rather than bemoan their situation, they lift it up to the Lord, singing hymns and praying for the other prisoners. I laughed when I heard how Paul and the others remained in the prison after a great earthquake came and provided them a means for escape. I thought about the prisoners whom I have ministered to in the federal and state prisons in Yazoo City and in Pearl; those prisoners would have seen that means of escape as a golden opportunity and as a gift given to them from God. Even the jailer in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles today was converted to the faith by the example of Paul. We never know how God is going to touch our hearts, do we? I have found so many of the prisoners eager to hear the word of the God when I ministered to them in the prisons. Even though Mississippi has tried to enact prison reforms in recent years, there is a still a lot of work to be done in trying to provide rehabilitation and mental health services to those who are incarcerated, to try to help them face their demons and re-enter society when their prison terms are over. That is a work of justice and mercy we are called to do. Perhaps our reading from Acts today will help us reflect upon such things.
No comments:
Post a Comment