Why Prison? Part One of Four
In a Kingdom founded on redemption, no one is the sum total of a past event. A faith who’s Founder proclaims that He makes all things new, declares that no one be viewed in light of their past mistakes or societal status (Rv 21:5). In a modern culture that is so quick to attach labels to everyone in light of their circumstances, societal-standing, or ill-conceived decisions, it is important that the Church remember that Jesus worked proactively to remove both the labels and the dividers, and hence the otherness, from those He ministered to:
The woman who was labeled an adulteress (a label that demanded an immediate and government sanctioned stoning) had her label removed when Christ declared her forgiven (Jn 8:1-11). The leper, who bore the label unclean (a title that isolated him from his community and family), had his label removed when Christ healed him and declared him clean (Mt 8:1-4). The man who hung near Jesus on the cross was labeled a criminal (a label that led to his execution) was declared free when Christ welcomed him into paradise that very day (Lk 23:43). The woman at the well, who was labeled a Samaritan (a title that designated her less racially pure as their neighboring Jews), had her label removed when the Son of Man crossed physical and racial barriers to fellowship with an otherwise promiscuous woman (Jn 4:1-42).
The Head of the Christian Church was in the business of fresh starts and new beginnings, and with that, removing the labels that are attached to one’s past mistakes and current societal standings. By forgetting their pasts and by removing their labels, He removed their otherness, thus allowing unity among them and the rest of his Followers, welcoming into His family a sector of society that perhaps had never been accepted before. That which made them unacceptable, or, that which made them an Other in society, was destroyed, resulting in the acceptance of everyone, who so desired, into the Kingdom of God, despite their past or current struggles. In every exampled listed above, there is a theme of Christ recognizing others, not based on what they do, but who they are.
Jesus did not see a diseased man as a leper, but rather a beloved child of God, who temporarily has leprosy. A crime did not make a man a criminal. Jesus simply saw a beloved child of God, who had a crime in their background. When all the dinner guests saw a local prostitute at the feet of Jesus, Christ saw a precious daughter of the living God, temporarily broken and in need of love and acceptance. In every case, Jesus treated the Other, not in light of what they have done, but in light of who they are: a beloved, cloaked in dignity and in the image of the Father, with the preordained right to be respected, valued, and loved.
Indeed, He told His Followers that their ability to love and accept one another, despite their differences, is an assured sign that they are in fact His Followers (Jn 13:35). Removing the otherness was a prominent focus in the ministry of Christ. His Church today should be the leading arbiter of this practice in modern culture…
(All photos are published with the written consent of their subject(s). They’re all our friends!)