A typical prison story is of a young man whom I’ll call Tim. He is 25 and having been in and out of custody in the Youth Justice system, is now serving a sentence for murder, which he committed when he was 19 - he expects to be in jail til he is 30. His mother had a history of substance abuse and his mother’s partner threw him out of home to live on the streets when he was 12.
They too, both had parents who mistreated them. All connections with family and friends have been severed over the many years in jail- its just too hard to keep up the visits, and so the only friends and community Tim has, are those whom he has met in custody. He is a really nice guy to meet- grateful for the opportunity to chat with someone who will take the time to really listen to him.
He says he will never come back, however living an institutionalised life in prison, which shields him from having to suffer the consequences of his decisions and actions, Tim will find it very difficult to reintegrate into the community when he is released. In fact he won’t get parole, because of the pressure brought about by his victim’s parents, who still don’t feel as though justice was done- , and who can blame them, they want to make sure Tim serves every day of his sentence.
Consequently he may never get the chance to have a planned and controlled release where he gradually learns to re enter society. Instead he will most likely serve his full sentence, be met by his ex jail friends on the day he gets out and they will have a party. If he doesn’t overdose and die soon after release (which many do) he will try to get a job – but no-one will want to offer him one-(would you if you had an equally good prospective applicant without a criminal record?), its hard to even get any accommodation for the first night. And so the chances are he will re offend and return to jail (around 50% do, 36% within 2 years)
.It’s a really difficult and sad road. Often these guys are their own worst enemy- you wish you could fix it for them, but the most difficult part is the willingness of our society to include and support them. .
Today I’d like to explore with you the dynamics between the various parties following a crime, using the story of the Prodigal Son. I’ve come to understand that St Luke told the story of Jesus ministry in a particular way in order to address the problems of his congregation; which in many ways mirror ours today.
In Luke, Jesus commenced his ministry at Nazareth with his manifesto- his declaration of THE GOOD NEWS of what his ministry was going to be about.
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
If you look at your pew sheet you will see the Return of the Prodigal Son as portrayed by Rembrandt. The Father lovingly embraces his dishevelled Son, with his shoes in tatters, while the older brother and others look on at a distance.
So who in this story are the Poor, the Captive, the Blind and the Oppressed?
Well first let’s recap on the plot.
A crime has been committed by the younger son- he has demanded his share of the family wealth before he is entitled to it and then gone and squandered it all – “pissed it up against the wall” !
When the money runs out he is left destitute and ends up caring for pigs, which is as low as you can get for a devout Jew. In time he comes to his senses and returns, recognising he has lost his right to be treated as a member of the family and so asks to be taken on as a labourer. The Father wont even hear his protests of unworthiness, because he is so pleased to have his lost son back safe and sound. The Older Brother – is well portrayed in the painting- holding a staff of his authority, standing higher and looking down at him with contempt and resentment.
Luke wanted his congregation to understand the plight of the Poor, the Blind , the Oppressed and the Captives. So who are they in this story and what relevance does this have to our criminal justice system?
The Poor
God cares deeply about the poor. In today’s story this is portrayed by the Son’s predicament in the pig sty. God’s compassion for those who are economically powerless, is also echoed in Luke’s parable of the Rich Man who was dressed in fine purple while Lazarus at his gate, ate the scraps from the rich man’s table.
Twenty five percent of Victoria’ prisoners come from only 14 postcodes of the 647 in Victoria. These are our State’s highest areas of social disadvantage. God doesn’t care what caused their poverty; whether they brought it on themselves or not- they are deprived and living a less than full life. Both Lazarus and the Prodigal aspire to be free of their poverty and powerlessness, but their freedom is totally dependant on the generosity of the powerful: because the rich have the power to set the rules and to decide whether a person or group can be set free. For the Son, his freedom is totally dependant on the generosity of the father.
The Captives
God is concerned about the Captives and all who are excluded from mainstream society and fullness of life. The Younger Son is a captive of hedonism, which causes him to exclude himself from his loving family and seeks satisfaction in what turns out to be destructive. A bad mistake- but God isn’t worried about fault, through the action of the father we see God is only concerned about need and demonstrates the importance of inclusion and community for wholeness of life. In Victoria this morning we are excluding 4,743 members of our society by locking them in prison. Australia wide nearly 30,000 excluded; and incarceration rates are growing each year, not because crime is increasing, but because in our fear, we allow Governments to pass more and more punitive laws. …Consequently more and more will be excluded until enough people say “No more”.
Exclusion and Captivity is also shown in Luke’s Gospel by the stories of Zacchaeus, the hated Tax Collector, the Sinful Woman at the home of Simon the Pharisee and the Thief beside Jesus on the cross. In each case they are held Captive by a society who shuns them because their actions or professions are considered “beyond the pale”. In each story they are invited back into community by Jesus; because God knows that exclusion is counterproductive for all.
When excluded, people tend to become angry, resentful and aggressive, others become introspective and lose hope. Our prison system causes families and relationships to break down. Consequently we have a growing underclass who feel rejected:…. and this is of our making.
….You don’t have to be in prison to feel excluded as the recent riots in the UK have shown. Exclusion doesn’t teach a lesson: it teaches that you are “not one of us”- “that you are not good enough”. God’s plan as shown in Jesus is to bring wholeness of life through community and inclusion of all.
The Oppressed
God’s “Freedom for The Oppressed” is seen in the response of the loving Father. When the Son came back, you’d expect the Father to respond with something like…
“So what do you think you’re doing back here, after you’ve squandered all that I gave you”.
That would be an understandable response by a hurt father who had had his generosity thrown back in his face.
Victims of Crime are often shown on the steps of our Courts following trials, claiming that “justice wasn’t done”. In its worthy attempt to provide equity for all, our criminal justice system has no soul. It’s about rules and rights and proofs and procedures, but does nothing to build relationships and enable healing. Because Crimes are against the State, individuals often feel that prosecutors are more concerned about getting a conviction than about how the crime affected the victim. As Restorative Justice pioneer Howard Zehr said:
• We do not listen to what they have suffered and what they need.
• We do not seek to give them back what they have lost.
• We do not help them recover.
• We may not even let them know what has transpired since the offence
Howard Zehr, “Changing Lenses- a New Focus for Crime and Justice
Freedom for the oppressed is when someone understands or seeks to understand the hurt. Although the Son may have brought it on himself, the Father recognises the disappointment and degradation experienced by the Son when his friends abandoned him and he was left starving in the pig sty. God cares about suffering and generously acts to heal wounds, as seen here and in the treatment of the victim in the story of the Good Samaritan.
Unrecognised hurt leaves victims of crime. Jesus showed that acknowledged and tended hurt, enables people to become survivors of crime; which is true freedom.
The Blind
God is deeply concerned about restoration of sight to the blind. But in Luke’s Gospel this is not physical blindness. Most Gospel writers concentrate on the individual who is in need of redemption or healing. In Jesus ministry as well as in the parables, there are also the bystanders who look on “muttering” and “tut tutting” about the sinfulness of the person and condemning any compassionate response as undeserved.
Why is this constant theme in Luke??
Biblical Scholar Brendan Byrne suggests Luke was writing for an affluent and respectable congregation who through their judgements were excluding the marginalised: losing the essence of what it meant to be a Christian. Over the last 20 years as the Victorian’s have become more prosperous- we have built more and more prisons.
Exclusion is shown most starkly by the Older Son, who doesn’t believe his brother deserves anything. We see similar responses by the Pharisees who condemn the sinful woman who anoints and washes Jesus feet with her tears.
Condemnation from the high moral ground is the cry of the oldest Son. Its also the cry of the media, most obviously seen in the Herald -Sun, A Current Affair, Today Tonight and by talk back radio hosts who point the finger. This media is however only responding to its readers and listeners perceived need to express outrage.
I recall the whole front page of the Herald Sun expressing outrage on a Monday at the easy life inmates had at Port Phillip Prison:
“Tax Payer Funded Ice creams in Prison. - They don’t deserve that!!”
In Luke the older Brother and the Pharisees are less than generous – in fact mean minded. Which begs the poignant question:
“Who is actually in the greatest need of salvation??”
We are all the Blind when it comes to criminals. Its easy like the Older Brother, the Pharisee, or the Herald Sun to point out what someone has done wrong. But this approach forgets our own shortcomings and common humanity.
Let me finish with a personal revelation.
As some know I went to hospital last week. When it comes to appointments my specialist can run up to 1.5 hours late. On the scheduled day I arrived at 1pm, having fasted since 7:30am and waited. …. All afternoon, they admitted me to the ward at 5pm and I was finally operated on , feeling very hungry and a bit peeved at 8pm. On the day I was due for discharge the nurse told me that the doctor expected to come in at lunch time and then I’d be free to come home. He arrived at 6pm.
When I arrived home the next day I spent the morning drafting a stinging letter to my doctor to instil in him an understanding of how it felt as one of his patients to be kept waiting. It was fair, correct and assertive without being abusive. Susanne read it and finally responded with “Ouch!!” she went on to ask if I was going to sit on it for a day before I sent it?
At this point I was feeling better .. and said that yes I thought I could leave it til the next day.
I looked at it a few days later .. and I thought “Ouch!” .. and decided not to send it. I was completely correct in my assessment of the doctor’s tardiness and how it affected me. I was right, but my response showed no compassion. By taking the high moral ground, pointing out my doctor’s faults, I leave no room for recognising that I stuff up regularly too, nor our common humanity- which is never perfect – but which survives best through compassion and tolerant understanding.
Look at the Father in the picture. Look at the eyes, bearing and embrace of his son. That’s who we are all called to be in our dealings with one another- even the prisoners.
The Lord be with you
