Lent Daybook, 22: Come By Here
FOURTH SATURDAY IN LENT
Welcome to a Lent daybook for these 40 days of prayer. You can see all the previous Lent daybook 2019 posts here.
Is this your first time to practice Lent? Here's a simple introduction.
Look: The Divide (Wallen Ridge State Prison fence), Raymond Thompson, Jr.
Artist Statement: Volunteers organized a van trip for families of inmates incarcerated at Red Onion State Prison and Wallens Ridge State Prison, which are located near the border of Kentucky and Virginia, in Wise County, VA. The supermax prisons are approximately 31 miles apart. Most of the people making the trip are from Virginia urban centers: Washington D.C., Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Richmond and Roanoke.
Incarcerated men and women often do not serve their time alone. The impact of their incarceration reverberates back to the communities from which they wereremoved. Most inmates are incarcerated more than 100 miles from their homes.
The barriers to visiting an incarcerated loved one can be high. According to a study published in Crime and Delinquency, written by Joshua Cochran, Daniel Mears, and William Bales, the average inmate only received 2.1 visits over the course of their entire sentence.
The combination of distance, lack of transportation, missed days of work, and organizing childcare can be too much for some people to overcome. For inmates, not receiving visits while incarcerated can have “collateral consequences” that damages social ties to family and community.
Listen: “Come by Here” and “Oh, Wallace” from Freedom Songs: Selma, Alabama (A Documentary Recording by Carl Benkert), Various Artists
Spotify | YouTube | Lyrics*
*For the important history behind this spiritual, read A Long Road From ‘Come by here’ to ‘Kumbaya’ by Samuel G. Freedman via New York Times.
Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify - Lent: Spirituals & Gospel Songs. Add it to your account by clicking ‘Follow.’
Read: Psalm 87, 90; Jeremiah 13:1-11; Romans 6:12-23; John 8:47-59
Excerpts:
“You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
*
”Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
*
”Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.”
Sunday Scripture readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year C). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the Book of Common Prayer (Year 1) with the Psalm for the Morning Office.
Pray & Do:
Each week during Lent, we will devote Saturdays to connecting with An American Lent from The Repentance Project. It's God's kindness that leads us to repentance, and in His kindness and provision for reconciliation, He invites us to make confession and ask for forgiveness on behalf of not only ourselves but our forefathers and mothers. We carry a heavy load of guilt and grief in our nation as a result of centuries of grievous sin and unrelenting injustice against African Americans.
Go here to download a PDF or subscribe to receive daily reflections from An American Lent.
Read, reflect and repent with An American Lent.
Begin with prayer:
“O Lord, my God, come with the breath of Your Spirit and revive me again. Amen.”
Spend time today reading through the reflections for Week 4 (March 25-31): From Slavery to Convict Leasing. I especially noticed Monday’s reflection “From Slavery to Convict Leasing” by Ted Haddock and Tuesday’s reflection “Legalized Lynching and the Death Penalty” by Rev. Bill Haley.
From Ted Haddock’s reflection:
Read carefully by clicking through all the links. Don’t miss the link to a recent discovery of a convict leasing graveyard.
Watch the documentary “Slavery By Another Name” at the PBS website. Explore the related interactive map.
From Bill Haley’s reflection:
Read carefully by clicking through all of the links, especially the Equal Justice Initiative links.
Don’t miss the infographics!
Pray, “Lord help me to see.” Then make time to watch one of these two video of Bryan Stevenson: TEDTalk (23 min) or presentation (6 min).
Close with prayer:
“Lord, help me to rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn. Give me your heart to pray for those in prison as if I were in prison with them. Lead me to a true repentance that considers others as better than myself. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Additional recommendations for your weekend:
Purchase Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. Begin reading.
Don’t lose heart.
(See all Lent daybook posts from 2018 here.)