Date: Monday, April 6th 
Scripture: Hebrews 13:3
“Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.”
By John-Michael Cotignola Pickens, Criminal Justice Education and Advocacy Coordinator, Mennonite Central Committee Washington, DC Offices
Lent is the difficult and dark road that leads to Easter which is the culmination of Christ’s time here on Earth. Lent, much like Christmas, highlights how the divine enters our world and does not shy away from the pain and suffering that comes with our humanity. Christ experienced the evils of the empire’s (in)justice system much like so many people experience to this day here in the U.S. A common statistic that is thrown out is that the U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s prison population.
We have a problem; our criminal justice system is more like a criminal injustice system. The author of Hebrews calls on their readers to be like Christ and to enter someone else’s pain, to imagine being incarcerated and tortured. We are called to
journey alongside them much like Jesus journeyed alongside the marginalized, oppressed, and forgotten peoples of His time.
Hebrews 13:3 asks for us to remember those who are incarcerated and experiencing torture which is great, while Jesus paints a dramatic picture of what His followers, the sheep, will be remembered for in Matthew 25:31-46. Part of what His followers will be remembered for is visiting “Jesus” in prison. It is not enough to remember those in prison, we must see Jesus in people who are incarcerated and get out of comfort zones and visit them. It is my prayer that those visits will drive us to advocate for a more just criminal justice system that rehabilitates rather than punishes and restores what has been broken.
Prayer: Jesus, remind us of those in prison, and help us to move beyond simply thinking about and remembering, but to acting with and for those whose power was taken away from them. Amen.
Criminal Justice Fact: More African American Men are in prison, jail, and on probation or parole than were enslaved in the US in 1850.
Action: Listen to this episode of This American Life which talks about how sentencing changed in PA over the course of 20 years. https://www.thisamericanlife.org/604/20-years-later
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