Date: Monday, March 9th
Scripture: Jeremiah 30:8
“‘In that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.”
by Jane Miron, Deacon, Episcopal Diocese of Central PA
In the passage of the Bible for today, the prophet Jeremiah is addressing the people of Israel, a people who have long endured
captivity, desolation, despair, and loss of hope. Some of their experience was a result of their own doing; sometimes they had moments of joy in their relationship with God. Jeremiah is very familiar with the ups and downs of becoming a people who follow God. In addressing his people, Jeremiah uses two different voices—at times he is encouraging them by bringing news of God’s promise of freedom, and at other times admonishing them for forgetting to follow God.The passage today speaks of God’s promise to bring about a day of setting things right, as my grandmother used to say. God promised them, and God promises us now, that freedom and redemption will happen.
In my life I have experienced times of feeling separated from God, times of hopelessness as well as times when I simply knew that Truth and Justice can and do prevail. In my work in prison ministry I have seen both hopelessness and joy. The first time I entered a prison it was a very different experience for me. I heard the doors slam shut behind me and realized I had no power on my own to open them. I was a captive at the control of an unseen force or being. In here, we sit together and share each other’s fear, anger, hopelessness, restlessness and fatigue of endless waiting. But that is not all we share. We also share voices of hope and freedom with each other. I have seen the face and work of God as women reach out and lovingly care for each other. I have seen women truly grab hold and hang onto the promise that they are worthy and loved by God; women who hang onto the news that God knows and cares that life can be relentless with difficulties. Women who believe that justice and mercy are not just abstract dreams, and that God will someday remove the yokes of captivity of our own or other’s doings; that true freedom to live as we were intended to live will really happen. It’s like seeing Jeremiah come to life. So today, who needs to hear from you that things will be different “on that day?” and who do you need to remind to follow God?
Prayer: Dear Lord, in tough times, help us hold on to the promise of a new day when your Justice will reign supreme. Amen.
Criminal Justice Fact: People placed in solitary confinement have limited to no access to prison resources and programs that have been shown to reduce recidivism.
Action: Consider becoming a pen pal with a person in prison. Contact Friends over Fences to see how you can get involved in their pen pal program.
http://www.friendsoverfences.org/FriendsOverFences/YouCanHelp/PenPals.aspx
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