Prepping for Jail

I'm part of our parish jail ministry and I'm on for next week.  Since I will be gone until right before I'm supposed to show up, I decide to prep the materials today.

Next week is the Solemnity of Christ the King, when we take a bit of time to celebrate and explore the meaning of Christ being King.

The Gospel reading is from John about the exchange between Pilate and Jesus right before Jesus is executed.  (John18: 33-37) ... Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Whenever I wonder why God chose to come down to earth, suffer everything it means to be human, and then get abandoned by His friends and THEN die an excruciating death by the state, I am reminded: He came to testify to the truth.

And look what it got Him, in purely human terms: abandonment, torture, humiliation, death.

One thing He said, among many, many things, was that the truth would set us free.  If the crucifixion were the end of the story, that's a blatant lie.  Up to that point, all the truth brought Jesus and His followers was a bucket full of pain.  I'm so glad He resurrected and showed us by His rising that the Truth really does triumph over the slavery of evil and lies and despair.

There is a song by Avalon called "Testify to Love" that can become a bit of an earworm, but I do so love the lyrics:  For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love, I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough. With every breath I take, I will give thanks to God above. For as long as I shall live, I will testify to love.

I think this is why this jail ministry is so important to me.  When things are at their darkest, we all need reminding that we are more than our worst mistakes, that we are loved beyond all reason by a God who created us to embrace truth and love.  If any of us are ever to become the people God created us to be, we need to know that we are LOVED, simply because we exist, by a God who died for us.

I have been reminded of that when I desperately needed it.  The least I can do is pass along the message.