Paul and Silas Bound in Jail

A Reflection 7th Sunday of Easter Thomas E Wilson, Preacher St. Luke/ St Anne’s Roper, and Grace, Plymounth June 1, 2025 Acts 16:16-34 Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21 John 17:20-26 Psalm 97 Paul and Silas, Bound in Jail As I begin this reflection about Paul and Silas Bound in Jail; I have to give you a warning. Many years ago in the mountains of North Carolina, I went to a BlueGrass Festival and it was there that I first heard it, and fell in love with a song that I started to sing along with a phrase in the chorus sung by so many different people over the decades. Paul and Silas bound in jail, all night long (3X) One for to sing, other for to Pray, all night long (3X) Saying who shall deliver for me “Who shall deliver for me?” So far in my pastoral life, I have visited many people in jails and prisons in three different states, but have not yet not been confined myself. So far, so good. However, there have been more than a few times where I could find no way out of difficult states of mind when I wondered: “Who shall deliver for me.” There are times when I come home, open the door, and I am hit with the fact that my wife who I loved and was loved by, died one hundred and five weeks ago, and she is not going to be there. And our dog, Yoda, the Wonder Dog, which we together rescued from the pound, died last month. Therefore, I am going to be alone and there is no one to deliver me from my sorrow. The reality is that I don’t want anyone to deliver me. My hope is that I can remember to see that I am not alone, but there is a power greater than myself ,who is there with me who will deliver me from my self-pity and remind me how fortunate I was to be loved and have the number of those hours, days, weeks, months and years together. In the story of Paul and Silas, they have the opportunity to escape, but they choose to remain in the jail with the jailer, out of compassion for the jailer who would be executed if any of his prisoners would escape. They do not take advantage of the release, but choose to enter deeply into their imprisonment and new ministry there with the jailer and his family. The question for them is not “Who shall deliver for me.”, but “Where does our faith lead us?” Out of love for the Risen Lord, they are what we would call “prisoners of hope” set free to do ministry in the world in which they live.. In my life, when I walk through the door into the empty room, I also have to ask, “Since I was loved, where does my faith lead me out of my love for her.” This last week, I had to write a reflection about what it is like to have someone who loved and was loved in one’s life. It is the understanding that it is only when you realize the jail you are in; when you understand this is the place where your particular ministry can begin and where you, in spite of yourself, are loved, So, where does your love lead you today?