Release to the Captives

Over at The Advent Door: entering a contemplative Christmas, artist Jan Neal is blogging art through Advent. The current post (the art is above) is based on yesterday's Gospel reading on John the Baptist sending word to Jesus from prison, to discover if he is The One Who Is to Come. She writes in part,

So today I find myself thinking about the word of Christ that comes to those in captivity. I think of how in recent months I’ve felt drawn to pray for those who live in various kinds of bondage in body and/or soul: those in prison, those who have been kidnapped, those living with addictions that have bent and broken them. I think of, and pray for, those who live within systems of oppression and those who create their own systems and situations that rob them of power. I think of those who live in ostensible freedom but who, for reasons of fear or ignorance or seeming convenience or who knows what else, have given their power away little by little, in such small increments that they (we) hardly notice it until it’s nearly gone. In John’s company today, I find myself wondering where those prayers might lead me, what path they might be preparing.

At King of Peace, the sermon I wrote for yesterday seemed better presented as a play, or something like it. Seven others had speaking roles in the sermon which was a fictional retelling of the Gospel in an Old West setting. It is now online at The One Who Is to Come: a parable of the old west. I am grateful to those who helped me present the Gospel in a way that would get tiresome to hear too often, but that worked well enough for yesterday, especially with the awesome support I got from the cast members. So thanks especially to Craig, Robin, Bill, Celeste, Victoria, Gil, and Al.

peace,
Frank+
The Rev. Frank Logue, Pastor