Psalm 62:1-2 – For God alone my soul in silence waits; from him comes my salvation.
Paul talks of the purity of the church, and Jesus tells us about the unity of it. Our strength comes when we stand united in faith, brothers in the family of God.
When I first came to prison I was terrified. Being a ‘new fish’ in a major penitentiary is an uncomfortable experience. God has given me a gift in my size and strength, but this is prison, and those things do not always matter.
I have been very careful, and very prayerful about how I have lived. I spend a lot of time working out, and I have found everywhere I have been that most of the biggest men on the weight pile were men of faith. My cellmate and I are the leaders in the Kairos ministry and dedicated weight lifters; the outside Kairos leader also calls us ‘his bouncers.’ I was worried about prison gangs and violence, and I have found the strength instead in the Christian fellowship and community.
We have our faith issues on the inside just as the church on the outside does but whatever little issues seem to challenge us we have to stand united on the deeper faith that unites us. Today’s scriptures remind us that when we live right, and live united in faith, then we can withstand the ways of the Satan. There are many things in this world, both mine and yours, to distract us from the family of the church, but my soul waits for God.
“In all our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, Good Lord, deliver us” BCP 149
Prison Lectionary 