Long-time, good friends stopped by my office with an urgent need to discuss a personal matter. They were in shock and uncomfortable by a letter that came from prison. It had arrived from a former colleague and estranged friend. This person was a victim of poor legal representation that resulted in serving as a first-time offender for a non-violent crime. They simply wanted to understand what all this meant from God. They were confused and angry and looked for guidance on what they needed to do.What my good friends did not know was that this inmate had made me promise to watch over his mother while serving their sentence. I had recently received a Christmas card from this young inmate that made me cry. The message from this inmate to his long-time friends was a gesture of hope and reconciltation. He understood that they had been seriously hurt by a decision he made in their work together. This couple had given this apprentice their support, experience and guidance. However, his decision had abruptly ended their friendship and professional relationship. Now after spending seven months in confinement, the desert experience had made our inmate soul realize that it was a serious mistake in judgment. This little one wanted to be loved and accepted back into their family.
The inmate’s letter tried to give this couple a glimpse of the lack of dignity inmates suffer in an unjust prison system. Any parent who has a family member incarcerated understands this injustice whenever they visit their loved ones. Many first time, non-violent offenders would better find rehabilitation outside prison. These families know that the system is in need of serious reform. Worse, this young person has shared how the routine that starts with lights on at 6am and a count, and the sheer repitition of each day strips the mind, body and spirit.
After learning that their former apprentice was suffering this injustice, this couple struggled in their hearts whether this was a ploy to get them to cooperate in the appeal process or simply a genuine gesture to surrender hurts and mistakes of the past. Listening to my friends concerns, I simply shared that this is what Christmas is all about. It is saying inside your heart and soul that we have already forgiven you for any misunderstanding and pain.
I shared that for seven months, I listened to his mother’s fears, frustrations and struggles with the legal system. I had taken the 5-hour trip to the prison and hugged this soul with the assurance that they will never be forgotten. The weekly letters from over 75 friends are the highlight of his day at 3:30 in the afternoon.
His Christmas card was a surprise and most humbling was the message on the front cover: HOPE. Is this not why God came to live among his people? Our Emmanuel, God with us, came to be at our side during despite times.
There will not be any Christmas hymns playing inside those prison cells, but I pray that all prisoners know that God has never forgotten them and that memories of the Christ Child bring hope to all in need of a Christmas blessing.
The letter to my friends ended with an invitation to come visit him in prison. He wrote that in that moment there will be many tears to shed. His hope was that tears of healing and forgiveness could replace the anguish of rejection and abandonment.
How many of us feel uncomfortable with another family invitation during the Christmas holidays. Our memories turn to past hurts when we felt misunderstood and rejected by family. We might better wish that the angels in Bethlehem whisked us away to a safe haven. Despite these hurts, the angels are back again to invite us to a place where shepherds keep watch and proclaim that a Savoir has been born. Come away from your despair and loneliness and allow the tiny eyes in the manger to fill your soul with a peaceful calm that says you are divinely loved. That’s the true meaning of Christmas.
Our Savior prays for us as we reflect: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven see the face of my Father in heaven.” (Matt 18:10).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine friends who have family and friends in prison during the Christmas season, May their gifts to buy food or warm clothes, or their letters and visits help to lift the spirits of those souls that feel abandoned. Let them know that God cares and wants each lost soul to be free from their fears and rest in the manger of love and hope.
