God with us.

Because Matt went to the prison this morning and I stayed back with the girls, I asked him to share his experience, which he also posted on his blog here.

Today I had the unique privilege of preaching at the Cap-Haitian prison. Every third Sunday of the month, a discipleship group led by an EBS student, Romual (and founded by EBS Staff Member, Junior Cinéas), leads a worship service for all the inmates.

The prison has 20 cells. Each cell is approximately 12’x20’ and averages 30-40 inmates (some had more, some had less) each. All the inmates are male (female criminals are held at another location) and averaged from 18-30 years old. Because of each cell being overcrowded, there was no room for inmate to lay down to sleep, and each cell was extremely hot inside. 

Every time I walked past a cell, a wave of hot air hit me...just from the body heat of having so many people in such a small area.  And it's the coolest time of the year.  Can you imagine summer?

Surprisingly, the spirit among inmates seemed very positive as I visited each cell.

The cells are organized around a courtyard. The service was held in the courtyard and delivered through a sound system so that each inmate could hear the service.

The service began with singing, reciting of scripture (Psalm 23, 100, and 103), and prayer.  As we sang in the courtyard, the choruses poured out from each cell with us...a worship service unlike any I've ever experienced.

All came to a climax for the message.

Romual, the EBS student leader, asked me to preach the same Christmas message that I preached in chapel on Friday. The text, Luke 2:1-7.

The story surrounding the birth of Jesus really is filled with tremendous difficulty (something inmates can certainly identify with). To start, Israel, the Holy Land, is being governed by pagan, unclean gentiles. This was a tremendous embarrassment for the Israelites(then and now). On top of this, the Roman government called for a census for the purpose of taxation. Not only was their land defiled by pervasive gentile presence, but those gentiles taxed them.

Because of the census, Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem (Heb. “House of Bread”). For Mary, being forty weeks pregnant, this was no easy journal (70 miles). To add to this yet even further, Mary is pregnant out of wedlock. This is a tremendous shame for the family (both hers and Joseph’s). I can hardly imagine that them being sent to the stable (in Joseph’s own hometown where he had family) was because of anything more than her being unlawfully pregnant out of wedlock. A shame.

It is in the midst of all of these problems, that God is born. This is a recurring theme throughout the Scriptures. God clearly prefers to manifest his precedes in the midst of extreme difficulty. It is in the enter of this turmoil and strife that Jesus is born.

For prisoners in Haiti, life is misery. For Haiti, which is strongly and honor-shame culture, being a put in prison is one of the greatest shames of a family.

I encouraged the men today that it is in these types of circumstances that Jesus, the Messiah, wishes to manifest his very presence. It is in the center of these problems that the immanent presence of God meets us.

Concerning Mary and Joseph, there is very little doubt that their sufferings quickly turned into joy as they looked upon the incarnate God, laying in the manger. In much the same way, for Haitian prisoners this Christmas, it is upon the Light of God being cast abroad in the hearts of men and prison cells of Haiti, that pain, suffering, and shame, can be turned to joy.

Join with me in praying for my Haitian brothers who suffer this day in prison. Christ be with them. Emmanuel.