Custody

Jesus in custody

Matthew 26:57-68

Those who had arrested Jesus took him to Caiaphas the high priest… v. 57

     Jesus says that when we visit the prisoner, we are visiting him.  How often do we stop to think that Jesus literally stands among the least of these–those arrested, those charged, and those found guilty?  He is betrayed to the authorities, abandoned by his friends, subjected to a judicial system stacked against him, accused by false witnesses, found guilty though he was innocent.   Jesus’ experience puts him in the ranks of almost everyone in prison.

     When Jesus praises those on his right for visiting the prisons as visiting him, he knows of what he speaks.  He knows the loneliness, the confusion, the fear that come with arrest and imprisonment.  He knows the terror of facing those in power who have authority over his life.  

      In Matthew’s gospel Jesus is mostly silent as he is accused and questioned.  His reticence amazes Pilate and infuriates his accusers.  He stands mute before them trusting in a higher power and a higher authority to vindicate him.

      As we visit those in prison, we can bring the good news that the God of justice and the God of love not only knows what they are experiencing but has also experienced it.  Jesus walks the walk they walk.  Jesus suffers the indignities they experience.  Jesus experiences their helplessness and vulnerability.

        As we visit, can we have empathy for the situation of these people?  Can we draw on our own experiences of loneliness, vulnerability, helplessness, to share their situation?  Can we also bring the light of the resurrection to them?  Can we remind them and ourselves that God brought the salvation of the whole world through the events of the cross?  The cross was a necessary prelude to the light of the resurrection.

Pray:  God, the author of freedom, you have experienced being a prisoner, facing injustice, losing freedom.  Today we pray for prisoners and their families that they not lose hope as they experience their difficulties.  Show your presence to them where they are that they migh rely on your power and  presence and promise as they live out their sentences.  Amen.