03-12-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
​March 12, 2023
Leon Benson was released from prison earlier this week after spending 25 years behind bars, including nine years in solitary confinement, for a crime he did not commit. I’ve now read a handful of stories about him and watched two video interviews, and I feel the same emotion as I do each time I hear of such a happening. I feel some responsibility, and as a member of the society that put him in prison, I believe there should be some collective responsibility. I am not suggesting everyone feel some immobilizing guilt, but change happens when people start accepting some responsibility. The system did not work, and simply suggesting that no system is perfect is not helpful to Leon or anyone else in his situation.

I think about the Apostle Paul, who spent time in multiple prisons, usually for trumped-up charges by those who did not like him. 2000 years later, we almost romanticize the notion of his faithfulness behind bars, but that’s real easy from the perspective of someone outside of prison. Like Paul, Leon is not dwelling on the past but looking ahead. That’s amazing, and though I would like to think that I’d have a similar attitude, I can’t say that for sure. Would bitterness own me? Maybe. Would I only focus on what I lost? Possibly.

Today I am praying for all those, both here in the United States and around the globe, who find themselves incarcerated for crimes they know they did not commit. I ache as I think about the hopelessness that must consume them while praying for a day of justice for each of them. As I ache and I pray, I also ask myself, "What is my responsibility in this moment?"

Holy God, let me never dismiss injustice happening to someone else. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Let me accept responsibility and seek out those places where I can assist in creating a more just world. Amen.