It is a fearful place. No one wants to go there. No one wants to be there.
Angola prison in west Feliciana parish, Louisiana is a fearful place.
It has been called the bloodiest prison in the federal prison system in this count ry.
Think about the bars, the razor wire fences, the heat and humidity of South Louisiana.
If you can, imagine all that could happen to earn that distinction, the bloodiest prison in the country, then you understand it is a fearful place.
And yet.
I could have chosen any number of examples of fearful places, desolate places, God forsaken places. Just watch the news. Listen for the cries of people in war zones, or places where the weather itself has turned on the people withdroughts, floods, mudslides. Places where how you worship makes you someone's enemy, the color of your skin, whoyou love, separates you from the blessed majority.
But there is something about a prison. The loss of freedom. The shame of being there. The isolation from what you knew before. The danger of being in a place where you can't get away from others who would rather be somewhere else.
It is not where we want to be or where we want anyone we love or care about to be. But I'd like to introduce you to the Warden at Angola. His name is Kaine.
And he is a Christian of the southern Baptist persuasion and he takes his job very seriously. His truth, born out of his faith, is that the job of everyone at Angola prison is to keep hope alive. As days grow into years, as people live and die locked away, the most important job he has is to keep hope real and present in the daily living of men who have a good reason to think hope is for dopes and people on the outside. But not us.
Through his efforts and those who followed him as warden, things have gotten better at Angola.
It is also called the plantation prison, because the farm land around the prison has always been cultivated to provide foodfor the prison and work for the prisoners.
It is also known for its rodeos, which provide, again income for the prison and excitement and purpose for the prisoners.
It also believes in returning its prisoners to society with skills and education in a great number of careers; religious programs you can participate in; and this past week on Thursday and Friday the prison was closed so that everyone could practice gratitude. Sounds like hope lives in Angola.
Jeremiah would agree with Warden.
A prophet called by God, Jeremiah's time was before the fall of Jerusalem and Judea. He looked around and saw what was happening and warned the people that things were going to get a lot worse. He said there will be cities filled with the bodies of dead men, and there will be no animals, no crops in the fields, no nothing, because by the sword, famine, and plague you will be handed over to Babylon by my hand, God says, through the prophet Jeremiah. I am angry with you. God says. Chapter after chapter Jeremiah works to impress upon the people ofJerusalem and Judea that God has had it with them.
And you know why?
Because they had forgotten how to be righteous. How to be in good relationship with God, with each other, with creation. They had dismissed the call to be just in their dealings with people. They had neglected to give God credit for what God had given to them.
Before you decide Jeremiah was coming down too hard of the chosen people of God, that it sounds like bringing this up makes the Jewish people look bad, tell me if you can't hear Jeremiah' s words in our world today. Tell me we haven't fallen into the independent self-righteousness of our time. Tell me you didn't squirm just a bit when I suggested being unrighteous can tick off God. Righteous is a slang word nowadays. It is okay to be a righteous dude, but how many times in a month, a year, do you identify righteous as a compliment about another. Or a goal foryourself?
I don't. I don't recall telling others they are righteous.
I can say God is righteous, but I don't really think about naming others.
Makes we wonder, should we be checking our horizons for the armies of Babylon coming, with God's blessings, for us?
That's about as southern Baptist a sermon as you are likely to hear in these pews.
Rather you will hear, I work for justice. I can say that is important to me. We give, we feed, we welcome, we are doing ok. God must be pleased.
But you know, if I were a prophet of God, if I got picked for that part, I think what would distress me the most is the culture of fear that separates us from each other, from creation, and from God. Listen and hear who we should weafraid of, what should strike fear in our won hearts. It’s everywhere. That what we need is for all the others in our world to be kept away from us, because they are going to hurt us. Every other in the world needs a trip to Angola. Or someplace where they can't get to us, because for sure what they intend is to take what is ours, hurt what we love,forget who we are, fill our streets with the bodies of dead men.
Fear is the destroyer of hope. I hope that we will be okay, but I fear we may not.
And fear is epidemic now. Vaccines, the department of education, Mexico, Canada, Russia, depression, recession,job loss, Muslims, transgender children, not enough, not enough, not enough. And the result is that hope is on the chopping block.
And to all this, Jeremiah says, after 30 chapters of telling people, showing people, how angry God is with them, Jeremiah says, but God has made a promise.
A gracious promise.
In those days, I will make a righteous branch sprout from David's line. He will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called: the Lord our Righteousness. Through him we live in righteousness.
And that Lord our righteousness says to his disciples,
Things are going to get bad, but when it seems like the heavens and the earth are about to end as we know them, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Be careful that your hearts not be weighed down with anxieties of life. That fear not win.
People of faith have said for centuries, the battle is between good and evil.
And good has already won, because Jesus walked out of the tomb and invited us to come along.
But in our time, the fight is between fear and hope. And advent wants to shout hope will be victorious because before there was tomb, God made a promise, I will send you David's heir, to show you how to be righteous, how to liveconnected to me, to each other, to creation.
Jesus came for hope.
HE said 120 times in the gospels, do not be afraid. Jesus knew hope and fear cancel out each other and the struggle within us is ongoing. But hear the call of Jesus when he says.
Stand up. Lift up your heads. Be careful with your heart. Be not afraid.
At least not all the time. Let us carry hope for each other and fortheother. Be not afraid.