Committed to the "Release of Prisoners"

When Jesus public ministry commenced, according to the writer of the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shared a message in the synagogue from the prophet Isaiah:

Luke 4:18-19

16 Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. 17 The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
    to proclaim release to the prisoners
    and recovery of sight to the blind,
    to liberate the oppressed,
19     and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

First, the prophet Isaiah exclaims an anointing that would lead to “the release of prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1,2). Jesus, nearly 1000 years later, references the words of the prophet Isaiah and commits to a ministry that would “release the prisoners.”

In our time, thousands of people who see the injustice of the U. S. justice system, with unjust drug policies and laws, for instance, which have led to the mass incarceration of millions of mostly black and brown men, have committed to working towards "the release of prisoners." These people are compelled by the Gospel, and some simply by human decency, to work to end the mass incarceration of mostly black and brown people.

On this past Tuesday, June 25, 2019, Governor J. B. Pritzker signed into law a bill that legalizes recreational cannabis. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune:"

"…the law provides for automatic expungement of arrests for marijuana possession under 30 grams, and that he will pardon those with convictions for possession up to 30 grams."

"Individuals and prosecutors may go to court to seek expungement of cases involving up to 500 grams."

“'Today we are giving hundreds of thousands of people the chance at a better life,' Pritzker said."

According to one article on CNN.com, close to 800,000 Illinois residents will have records expunged and sentences vacated for convictions of cannabis possession. WHAT A VICTORY!!!

There are even more benefits, termed a “social equity program” in store in this bill for communities that have been ravaged by the war on drugs, including funding for job training, business licenses, etc.

Hyde Park Union Church’s own Rev. Al Sharp and his team at Clergy for a New Drug Policy https://newdrugpolicy.org/  have been instrumental in bringing this victory to fruition. We congratulate Rev. Sharp and all involved, and express a deep appreciation for the hard work, dedication and perseverance that preceded this win!

We thank God, the prophet Isaiah, and Jesus, for a vision of justice and a mission of setting prisoners free. We thank government officials, the community, clergy and followers of Christ, and all who kept their hands to the plow until this justice, this particular and important victory, “rolled down like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream” (Amos 5:24).

There is so much more work to be done to see the benefits of this bill come to fruition, and to continue to work towards even more victories aligned with the missions set forth by Luke 4:18-19. Let’s commit to be part of this work… aligned with Jesus and Isaiah, and God…

Yours in Christ, committing to work towards setting more prisoners free…

Pastor V