Spirits in Prison...

 

Spirits in Prison

 

1 Peter 3:18-22
3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit,

3:19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison

3:20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.

3:21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you--not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

3:22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

 

Lent is upon us. As a local church pastor for 36 years, those words typically struck fear into the hearts of me and my church staffs. We used to joke that first came Advent and two days later, Lent, or at least so it seemed. For the uninitiated (laity), the Advent/Christmas season and the Lenten/Easter cycle were the most intensive activity times in the church planning year. Not only are there a raft of events to plan for, but there was also a strong compulsion on the part of those of us who live and breathe theology, ministry, and inspiration to want to make each of these two seasons bigger and more brimming with “spirit” each year. I know it wasn’t really true, but I could almost “hear” the voices of my gathered parishioners speaking a line from one of Woody Allen’s films: “My God, my God, what hast thou done LATELY?” To borrow a cultural phenomenon that may be easier for you lay persons to understand, the Lenten/Easter cycle is the church’s Super Bowl. Lent and Holy Week are like the game; Easter is the rousing halftime show. I don’t MISS this feeling, the stress it induced, and the hours of planning involved. I think this is why I tended to enjoy the Advent/Christmas season more—secular society had so kidnapped it that those of us in the church could “ride the wave” of excitement the culture built! Just adding a few poignant, “head-turning” moments of spiritual inspiration to the childlike fervor of the weeks around Christmas was usually welcomed by the congregation, and affirmed by it. Easter benefitted from no such hype. Bunnies, chocolate, and egg hunts were for kids; the adults just looked to US and asked, “My God, my God, what hast thou done LATELY?” 

 

So, what does a retired pastor write about Lent in a sermon? Escaping the pressure to pump up a congregation over it, I think I’ll do what I always do—look to the lectionary texts and see if there are interesting phrases that “pop out,” and cause me to question. This weekend’s text from First Peter has several of those. First off, I should state that I’ve always treated the “epistles” of Peter as sermons, for I believe this is what they were, not letters. Oh, someone may have heard them and wrote them down so as to share them with others, but they certainly READ like sermons. Of course, the “role” of sermons is similar to that of scripture. The author of II Timothy gives us that somewhat well-known “other” 3:16 passage:

 

¹⁶ All scripture is inspired by God and is^[a] useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…

 

A decent sermon carries some “inspiration,” if not directly from God, at least from its author. A good sermon may be a “teaching” about some element of our faith or our walk of discipleship. A meaningful sermon may “correct” or “reprove” the hearers of errors that have crept into our understanding of what it means to BE a Christian, or corrects an errant “interpretation” of scripture that may cause us to use it as a club against those we don’t like, or just simply don’t understand. All sermons should impart SOME “training in righteousness,” in my opinion, for if they don’t, why are we giving them in the Christian church? Of course, a “healthy” debate can be had over what constitutes “righteousness,” with some wanting to nail down “orthodox doctrines” or clearly define “sin,” while others will want to stress the imparting and reception of grace, and hawk “reconciliation” as the gold standard of dikaiosune (NT Greek for “righteousness”—there, that’s  a “teaching”). John Wesley would probably say that “righteousness” is just RIGHT LIVING, or living according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. I’m good with that. 

 

With this in mind, why am I focusing on the phrase in this text, “spirits in prison”? Let’s explore that a bit, shall we? Now, some will take it pretty literally, suggesting that during the three days Jesus was “dead” to us and in the tomb, he was actually “visiting” with the souls of the dead who were in Sheol (Hell), or some form of after-death “purgatory” where they were awaiting God’s “final solution” to the problem of separation from God, Jesus BEING now that solution. The ancient writers of the Apostles’ Creed went there, as one of the lines of the creed says, “He descended into Hell.” Frankly, speculating about this is WAY beyond my pay grade, so I choose to look at this verse symbolically. 

 

The ”spirits in prison” might be ANYONE who finds themselves “bound up” by stuff that: limits joy; destroys or harms one’s psyche; leads to a harmful and/or life-threatening addiction; poisons relationships; blinds one to anything except one’s own selfish desires; robs reason and substitutes foolishness; or just wholly beats down a child of God so severely that he/she/they would have to climb a tall ladder to kiss a snake’s heinie. These “spirits in prison” may never see the Bible’s “Hell,” for they are in one right here and now. It may well be a Hell of their own choosing and design, or they may be an oppressed victim of the ones society (or narcissistic others) has created, but it is a “prison,” just the same. And this is not to discount the literally prisons where our nation locks away the highest number of folk—many for small crimes—than any other country. Christian people—“church people”—should align themselves with the struggle for justice for those who do NOT deserve to be “rotting” in our literal prisons, and as Mr. Wesley believed, we should ALSO care for those whose crimes deservedly put them there. Prison should never be a place devoid of human hope and civilized treatment and provision. We’re not doing so well with that, though. When the church engages in benevolent, hope-bearing ministry to those imprisoned, it is literally following the example of Jesus mentioned in this scripture text! And when we work for justice and humane treatment in our prisons, we are possibly engaging in one of those things Jesus promised in the Gospel of John: “GREATER THINGS you will do when I go to the Father.”

 

In this text, Jesus “makes a proclamation” to the “spirits in prison.” What does he say to them? I think the Gospels are actually FULL of the kinds of things Jesus proclaimed to these “captives.” The message? They are all children of God; Christ came that they might have life, and even life abundantly; Jesus is a healer for their wounds and a balm for their fears; their sins are forgiven; the Holy Spirit has been “lavished” upon them; the hope and promise of eternal life in the presence of God is theirs for the receiving; they are some of the “last” that will be brought to the front of the line; NOTHING will separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus their Lord. And this is just the “short list.” How about this one that ANYONE who feels trapped would want to hear: “I will never leave you nor forsake you…Lo, I am with you ALWAYS, even to the end of the age.” 

 

The proclamation Jesus Christ has for ANY “spirit in prison”—regardless of what that “prison” may be—is that their life COUNTS for something, and that God desires to “free their spirit” from any oppressing force. This may not mean that they will not “reap what they have sown,” if their activity has caused others (or themselves) harm, but it DOES mean that God desires and demonstrates in the Christ Event that they don’t have to STAY in a “spirit prison.” If they HEAR and YIELD to God’s proclamation of freedom—“Those whom Christ has freed are FREE INDEED”—their soul may still have “wings, their life may rediscover its purpose, and they will be reconciled to God and the others they love. 

 

With God’s help, and the support of a caring community, people can be freed of addictions, psychological diseases and syndromes may be healed or at least brought under control, relationships can be restored, and the “still small voice” of God can be heard once again. As the text says, through the death and resurrection of Christ, they can have their “good conscience” restored, and that may be the most freeing thing of all.

 

I like that the “preacher” in this text uses the example of God’s “rescuing” of the animals and Noah’s family. Not that any of us have to believe that particular biblical story as historical, but it IS a good example of God’s desire to rescue, even when society goes really, really bad, as was the case in the Noah story. (I like the idea the story gives us that God chose to save a whole variety of ANIMALS, but I was never too impressed that only one “chosen” human family was spared. This is one reason I have believed this to be a kind of parabolic tale.)

 

One of the other lectionary texts for this weekend actually gives us the “promise” of the rainbow as a sign that God will no longer flood the earth. Interestingly, that text from Genesis says that the rainbow is a “sign” or “reminder” to GOD not to do that! Even God needs to be reminded to rain kindness not flood waters upon us, so I guess we have a little grace when we get on our high horse and unfairly “condemn” other sinners because their “sin” is far worse than ours! But like God, when we see the “signs,” we should be reminded of grace, not judgment.

 

Are you feeling today that your spirit is “imprisoned” in some way? Remember, when we are experiencing something like this, it is REAL to us, even though our travail may pale in comparison to what others face. When I was in full time ministry, I would sometimes counsel with a person whose life was really coming apart, followed closely by another parishioner who was weeping elephant tears because they had a blowout on a new tire. I remember feeling that this was my chance to “play God” and offer both grace and comfort, when it might have been easy to unfairly differentiate between the two. God really IS like that! And we’re trying…

 

If you ARE feeling painfully “confined,” listen to the great proclamation the Lord Jesus offers to ALL of the “spirits in prison.” Start with the OTHER 3:16 from John: “For God so LOVED the world that God gave the only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believes in him shall not PERISH, but have EVERLASTING life.” Don’t let your current “prison” perish you, and know that “everlasting” life means good stuff can start NOW, not just in the afterlife! Believe the greatest promise of God, that in Jesus Christ, God is truly “Emmanuel”—God IS with YOU! Shalom, Beloved! Amen.