Acts 16: 16-34
Psalm 97
Revelation 22: 12-14, 16-17, 20-21
John 17: 20-26

“No Walls Strong Enough”

“The Shawshank Redemption” is a movie about a banker by the name of Andy Dufresne, who was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to life in prison. The narrator is a fellow inmate, a man who goes by the name of “Red”; a man whose life is slowly changed by the influence of his new found friend; someone who refuses to let the cruel and corrupt prison environment destroy him. What no one else knows though is that this quiet banker with a hobby of polishing rocks is slowly, ever soooo sloooooooooowly, tunnelling his way out of Shawhank prison - and depositing the tunnel in the prison yard, one pocket full of sand and gravel per day. The tag line of the movie: is “Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free”. During the time of his incarceration Dufresne seemed to be able to rise above the cruelty around him and bring beauty, humanity and hope to his fellow prisoners. Of course the line can be taken quite literally, for in the end, the two main characters do get to walk on the outside again. And yet, in another sense, they found their freedom long before they left the walls behind.

One of my favourite shows growing up was “Hogan’s Heroes” . It is set in fictional “Stalag 13" run by Colonel Klink and his “see nothsing, know nothsing” assistant, Seargent Schultz. These two soldiers are, by far, the most incompetent pair in the German army. For instance, the barracks of Hogan and his men house a communications system and supply line to the underground and an extensive tunnel system, right under the noses of the German Army. No one has ever escaped from “Stalag 13" because, truth is, they don’t NEED to escape when they can come and go as they please. Of course, the show is a complete farce; for no one in POW camp ever lived like that or had that much freedom.

Today’s reading from the book of Acts is a story of crime and punishment; it is most likely remembered the story of the “prison escape that wasn’t”. That’s the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the phrase, “Paul and Silas in jail”.

Paul and Silas have been on a missionary journey. As they are going about their duties they are continually harassed by a slave woman who takes time off from fortune telling for her owners to proclaim that these men are servants of the most high God. Even though it is quite true this behaviour proves to be quite annoying to Paul and Silas and they heal this woman. Her owners, who are now deprived of a source of income are furious and have Paul and Silas incarcerated. They are severely beaten and end up in the most secure unit with their feet in the stocks. We are told that they spend the night singing hymns and survive an earthquake which destroys the prison and the chains that held them.

The whole scenario sounds quite ludicrous: prison doors open, chains undone, but the prisoners ALL remaining in their cells - because if they didn’t the guards would have to commit suicide. I gather a worse fate would have awaited him at the hands of the Roman officials once the prison break was discovered. If you were a jailer you were responsible for securing the prison even in the event of an earthquake - no excuses!

During the night their imprisonment had become is event becomes a means of evangelism for Paul and Silas and in the morning the jailer and his whole family also become followers of the Way of Jesus. The Spirit is working in the lives of those with whom these 2 apostles come in contact.

At the height of the civil rights movement in the United States large groups of people were jailed for such things as riding the busses and attending civil rights demonstrations. In 1961 a group of so called “Freedom Riders” were jailed for 40 days and nights in Jackson Mississippi and they sang, day and night despite the pleas of their jailers - they sang for freedom, they sang because their souls demanded it.

But the question for us is not really: “should we sing in jail or not?” The question for us today is: “what dos this passage say to us, in Kent County in 2007?”

It seems to me that the mission of the Church centres around the freedom offered in Jesus the Christ. We all know that freedom and independence is hard wired into the human psyche. Just look at a two year old trying to do something and refusing the help of an adult or older sibling. “Me do it - myself”. It has been many years since both Canada and the Untied States to the south of us, outlawed slavery. But there are still many things that enslave us; many things that imprison us. Some of these things are certainly taken advantage of by others. Even though those who try to stop it most often have the law on their side, are often putting themselves in great danger.

Some of my favourite TV shows are the Law and Order and CSI series. A common scenario in these shows is the use of vulnerable people for the purposes of drug smuggling. People are duped into swallowing quantities of illegal drugs encased in latex so that bomb sniffing dogs at airports and border crossings will not detect them. Illegal immigrants, desperate to get into the United States are taken advantages of by people with little to lose and much to gain as they charge exorbitant fees for their services and run for the hills at the first sign of danger. The war on drugs, and human smuggling can be costly for those who try to stop it.

Prisons can be places of our own making or made by circumstances largely beyond our control. Alcoholism and drug addictions can build prison walls as strong as any. People can become caught in the prisons of unfinished education and low paying jobs and seasonal employment inadequate to really have dignity in life. Women continue to be paid less than men for work of comparable value, and generally speaking, business sees every reason not to change this practice. People living on the streets in our cities (and it doesn’t have to be that large a place to have people living ON the streets) have to struggle to maintain life and dignity in the face of a culture who wants them to “go away” but who also refuse to give them the tools to live and thrive elsewhere.

For those of us who feel imprisoned for whatever reason the message is more than and order to, “sing hymns and be happy”; which is really just another mechanism of oppression; it is a promise that if we sing these hymns with all of our hearts, and we believe that the God of freedom and love wants better for us all, freedom will come to us.

The Good News is that the God of freedom and love wants true life and happiness to come to all the people. That is our promise, but as disciples it is also our mission. Notice that the disciples were not given freedom solely for their own benefit, but so that their freedom could be a source of freedom and salvation for others.

So, it seems to me that part of what this passage is about is the realization that freedom is interconnected. We can’t be truly free if others are not free. Paul and Silas could not take off and let the jailer suffer the consequences. We can’t celebrate our good fortune and rest on our laurels if we know that others still suffer.

We can bring food to the food bank, but unless we look at the root causes of poverty we will never truly be offering freedom from poverty to the poor. We need the kind of society that sees these interconnections and recognizes our mutual responsibility toward one another. There is no “us and them” in gospel thinking, there is only “us”.

The book of Acts is much more than a “history of the early church”. In telling these stories, the author is telling us, almost 2000 years later that the same Spirit will be with us in our struggles to spread the Good News and share the love which has found us and changed our outlook on life. Being a disciple of Jesus is not a one time decision which we make and then tick it off our list, but a way of living. Each day we will have to decide to sing our hymns, to proclaim the good news, to believe that our faith can make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.

As Christians, we believe that the God of heaven and earth has something to say in Jesus of Nazareth - we believe this, we commit our lives to this and we choose, often making the choice again and again, as each day goes by and each situation comes along. We are assured that if we choose the way of life and faith, we will be given through God’s grace, the gift of true freedom.

As we reflect upon what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, especially in the light of baptism and conformation at St Andrew’s this morning I would like to quote part of the “Confirmation Message” that was sent to all Conformation classes by our Moderator, the Rt Rev David Giuliano:

	“In life, I have made three life-changing covenants with God and our church community. I was confirmed, married, and ordained. You might think that marriage, or even ordination, is the most important decision someone will make. But it was the first decision, to disciple my life to the Way of Jesus, that has shaped everything else—even, maybe especially, our marriage.
	If you let it, the promise you are making today will shape your life in amazing ways. It is neither the beginning nor the end of the journey. But it is a covenant that you are making, perhaps for the first time for yourself, to be shaped by God’s call in community. You are offering your life to the Way of Jesus and to making that journey within The United Church of Canada. If you walk this walk, it changes everything.
	I cannot say that this journey will be without hardship or heartache, but I can promise you that there will be great joy, wonder, and beauty along the way. I am 



praying today that you make this covenant with a free and tender heart, one that is open to the adventure that lies ahead. Blessings to you on this special day and peace be with you. 

Like Paul and Silas we are on a missionary journey. We are proclaiming our faith whether we use words or not. Let us remember to rely on the Spirit who gives us life. Let us remember to sing our faith in our hearts, in our souls and yes, even with our voices.

Amen.