What a barbaric story is revealed in the Gospel for today. A man chosen by God to prepare the way for the coming of Christ languishes in prison for the reason that he denounces sin in high places. Yet the prisoner bound in chains is actually feared by the king who holds him there - a king who is perplexed by the steadfast faith and resolute courage of his helpless prisoner. The king feared him, he was perplexed by him and yet he heard him gladly - a strange mixture of reactions. Yet because of a drunken promise and the fear of the jibes and jeers of his high-ranking guests the king handed him over to be executed.

Imprisonment must have been a dreadful ordeal for John. Here was a man who loved the wide open desert to which he could withdraw at will, chained to a wall in the dismal and grimmest prison imaginable, overlooking terrible ravines and the deadness of the Dead Sea. But there was something which must have haunted him even more. His entire ministry pointed to that of Jesus and yet as far as we know Jesus never came to visit him. Certainly John was haunted by doubts for he sent his disciples to ask Jesus whether or not he was the Messiah. Was John satisfied with the answer? We do not know but with plenty of time on his hands in that awful place he must have struggled as much in mind and soul as he did with his binding chains.

John the Baptist and Paul - Both Endured Imprisonment

Scholars are somewhat divided about the authorship of our Epistle today but if it was Paul who wrote it he refers to it three times in the letter. Furthermore, tradition tells us that Paul was executed also. Although not a man of the desert he was a missionary who travelled much so he too must have felt the pain of confinement. But there was a difference between John the Baptist and Paul. The Baptist pointed to the coming of Christ. Paul reflected on that life and its meaning before and after the Resurrection. He had no doubts whatsoever about Jesus and so even the dungeon was lightened by the Presence of the Risen Christ. John could not see the glorious victory and fulfilment of Jesus' ministry so that comfort was withheld from him. Two men imprisoned not for violent crime or law breaking but because of their faith. As we enter the third millennium there are many parts of the world where Christians are still imprisoned or even killed because of their faith.

Most Prisoners in the Republic come from Deprived Backgrounds

Of course, the vast majority of those in prison in Ireland are there because they have broken the law, sometimes in a most violent fashion. My major problem with this situation is that the vast majority of prisoners are from deprived backgrounds. I was Church of Ireland chaplain to a prison for ten years and I can only recall one prisoner in that time who could be called a white collar worker - the rest were from predictable backgrounds and some for offences that could hardly be termed serious. I wonder how many of the powerful people about whom we read at the tribunals if found guilty will ever serve a sentence. We will wait and see but I do not think we should hold our breaths.

People in Northern Ireland imprisoned by their Tribal Beliefs

But of course, there are prisons that have nothing to do with steel bars and high walls. On our TV screens over the past couple of weeks we have seen people imprisoned by their tribal beliefs, which turn reason upon its head. We watched the leader of the Portadown Orange Lodge refuse to condemn the presence of paramilitaries but rather maintained that anyone was welcome to support their stand at Drumcree - one group fired shots - this action was not condemned. He called for peaceful protests all across Northern Ireland but washed his hands of any violence or intimidation that would inevitably ensue from such a call. One might as well invite a fox into the hen run and tell him not to touch any of the hens as to use such words.

Deep Sense of Shame

To see a Church of Ireland Church faced with a ring of steel razor wire, armed police and soldiers fills us with a deep sense of shame at what was said and done in our name. But we were not alone in enduring such shame - many decent Orangemen were also deeply shocked and it is important that this should be acknowledged. Of course, we also need to remember that the ring of steel was there to protect another tribe equally imprisoned by their entrenched beliefs and whose local leader was convicted of a terrorist offence. Both sides are prisoners of their own tradition.

Support for the Archbishop of Armagh

In highly charged situations such as this the voices of reason and the voice of Christ can be lost in venomous clamour of words of hatred. All down the years one such voice of calm moderation has been and is that of the Archbishop of Armagh, Dr. Robin Eames. Year after year his voice of reason has been in stark contrast to words of hatred. Sometimes vilified, sometimes praised he has never been deflected from his calm, patient and Christian approach to this complex issue.

Last week he wrote in The Irish Times. I quote "Much of what I have heard spoken at Drumcree on Sunday is very far from my understanding of the teaching of Christ, let alone the principles of the Church of Ireland. Much of what I heard comes from a different world from that experienced in parishes up and down the country. It is that Church which I dissociate without reservation from what we have seen and heard at Drumcree". Once again he summed up the situation in a few calm well-chosen words.

Tradition can be a Prison

Yes, indeed there are prisons that have nothing to do with bars and high walls, even though I have only mentioned one of them. Of course, Paul knew not only life in physical prisons but also in his earlier life the prison of tradition. He was the one chosen to hunt down the Christians whenever he could find them. He speaks of it himself in Galatians 1. He writes "For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers".

Spiritual Prisons

Tradition can be a powerful and beautiful thing and important to the life of any community, religious or otherwise. However, when it becomes an end in itself then we find ourselves in a prison that blinds us to other truths. Churches are particularly vulnerable to this type of spiritual prison and must be constantly on their guard to ensure that they are not ensnared by it.

St. Paul broke out from this prison beginning with his spiritual experience on the road to Damascus. It was the awakening that spurred him on to become the great reconciler between Christian Jews and Gentiles and in Christ to break down the wall of division between the two communities. It was on this very issue that he withstood Peter to the face.