Who Opens The Door to Our Prison?

Devotional Reflection, Friday, November 29, 2024

Proper 29, Friday of the last week  after Pentecost

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden.  Untie it and bring it here. . . . .

35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the  road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud  voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’

You will find the full text of today’s Gospel reading at the end of this reflection.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 995)

AM Psalm 140, 142; PM Psalm 141, 143:1-11 (12)

Zech. 14:1-11; Rom. 15:7-13; Luke 19:28-40

David's Reflections

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young German theologian who participated in the resistance to Hitler.  Arrested for his part in the failed assassination attempt in late 1943, Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Germans in April 1945 with the Allied armies only a few miles away.  He was imprisoned by the Gestapo until his execution. Bonhöffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison still is in print and worthy of careful reading and attention. Gestapo prison guards smuggled pencil and paper to him and helped smuggle much of the writing out.

His first Advent in prison, Bonhöffer wrote:  "A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent." (21 November 43) *

Our Gospel reading, Luke's report of Jesus entry into Jerusalem for his final confrontation at Passover with the leaders of his people (a confrontation that would lead to his rejection and death) contains a quotation from Psalm 118:26, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."  Those words appear in our celebration of Holy Communion and refer to Jesus' response to our prayers to become present in bread and wine.

Advent begins this Sunday, a season in which we focus on the prophetic hope for the coming of a Savior, on the ministry of John the Baptist, and on the coming of Jesus.  Bonhöffer’s words came home to me with new freshness recently.  The Israel of Jesus' day was in a prison cell of Roman oppression and of spiritual blindness and powerlessness.  In what prison cells do we sit?  Could it be the prison of fear, of guilt, of shame, of addiction, of anger, of broken relationships and unforgiveness, of feelings of failure?

One aspect of our "prison experience" that can become routine and deadening is the expectation that this is what will always be.  We can become so habituated in certain patterns of behavior, and so discouraged about it that we can feel hopeless.  We get to a place where we do not expect anything very different from what we've always experienced.  Have we lost all expectation except what always has been with its attendant lack of genuine freedoms?  Have we secretly and almost unknowingly concluded that we will have to live with the level of freedom or lack thereof that we've always known?

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."  Jesus came to Israel on a donkey's back in fulfillment of the image of the gentle shepherd king of Zechariah 9, rather  than the military deliverer many in Israel expected--a king who delivered from political oppression like David or Moses had done.  He came to them in a way they did not expect, and they did not recognize  and accept him and his message.

Can we in this Advent season get in touch with the nature of the prison cells in which we sit?  Can we entertain the thought that God intends that we not be in such bondage?  Can we call up the expectations with which we have been operating?  Can we pray with those ancients, "Blessed  is he who comes in the name of the Lord."  and trust that God is coming to us in ways counter to our habitual expectations?  Can we live into the freedom and  deliverance that he so desperately desires for us?  He has prevailed over all the forces and powers that limit our freedom and smother our lives.  Can we trust him?  Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Can we hope again?

Bonhöffer’s imprisonment by the Nazis serves as a harsh and vivid reminder that the doors to our prison cells open only from the outside.  And, Jesus approaches those closed doors with the ability to release us and seal our freedom and healing.  May this Advent bring us by faith that larger place God offers us, a larger space of freedom, joy, and hope.

* Dietrich Bonhöffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, trans. Reginald Fuller, Frank Clark, John Bowden (New York:  Macmillan, 1971), p. 416.

Collect of the Day, Proper 29, the week of the last Sunday after Pentecost

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.  (BCP, 236)

A Collect for Fridays

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  (BCP, 97)

For Freedom, Collect 4, Night Prayer

God our Creator, our centre, our friend, we thank you for our good life, for those who are dear to us, for our dead, and for all who have helped and influenced us. We thank you for the measure of freedom we have, and the extent to which we control our lives; and most of all we thank you for the faith that is in us, for our awareness of you and our hope in you. Keep us, we pray you, thankful and hopeful and useful until our lives shall end. Amen.

A New Zealand Prayer Book. (New York: Harper/Collins, 1997), pp. 834-35.

In the Order of Worship for Evening

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen.  (BCP, 113)

A Collect for Mission

Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. (BCP, 280)

Daily Office Reading, Luke 19:28-41

28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden.  Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this, “The Lord needs it.”’ 32So those who were sent departed and  found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ 34They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’  35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the  road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud  voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’ 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ 40He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’

Daily Prayer Offices in The Book of Common Prayer

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Noonday Prayer, p. 103, Book of Common Prayer

Order of Worship for Evening (Vespers), p. 109, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Devotionals, page 136, Book of Common Prayer