Jens Soering, a German citizen currently serving two life sentences in Virginia, is the author of numerous articles and books in both English and German. His English books include The Convict Christ: What the Gospel Says about Criminal Justice, Church of the Second Chance: A Faith-Based Approach to Prison Reform; and The Way of the Prisoner: Breaking the Chains of Self through Centering Prayer and Practice. His latest book is his account of the events that led to his imprisonment. You can find more information on all of his books at http://jenssoering.com/publications.
current events
Lectionary: Proper 20C / Ordinary 25C / Pentecost +18
by LA
Luke 16:1-13
When I read Luke 16:1-13, I am forced to think about the state of American politics today, where we find certain political families who have never once planted a crop, offered a legitimate service, traded a single good at market nor invented or assembled one widget. Yet somehow they were able to amass a fortune worth hundreds of millions of dollars. An impossibility for a career in public service, making it more than obvious that they are selling the favors of their positions much like the steward in this reading. These sorts are always in the press, going form one scandal to the next, lying their way to higher and higher offices, with no end in sight.
A Reflection on the Orlando Nightclub Shooting
NOTE: The views expressed on Prison Lectionary are those of the individual author of each post and do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrators of Prison Lectionary.
“There is an illusion of central position, justifying one’s own purposes as right and everybody else’s as wrong and providing a proper degree of paranoia. Righteous ends, thus approved, absolve of guilt the most violent means.” – Henri Amiel –
“Kill ’em With Kindness”
I am an inmate in a Virginia correctional facility and I have been in prison for the better part of a quarter of a century and I am shocked by the level of senseless violence that has been occurring in this country lately. Before I came to prison events like the one that took place at Pulse in Orlando, Florida the site of this nation’s worst mass shooting to date was almost unheard of. But now these incidents are so commonplace the main issue of them is often overlooked as we debate the reasons of how such crimes are committed in the first place. And it will not be until we do address what makes a person commit mass shootings will we ever hope to prevent tragedies such as this from ever happening again.
Prison Lectionary 