Friends,
This week I will keep my commentary short, because Neaners' words are longer.
What he is doing in this letter is a beautiful example of why I first went to Washington seven years ago after college: to begin reading the Bible through new eyes. Alongside Bob Ekblad in the Skagit County Jail, who was about to publish Reading the Bible With the Damned, I found a place where I could read the scriptures alongside people on the margins of society--at a time when I was mistrustful of the churches or seminaries where I could otherwise go to learn. Neaners here is doing "contextual theology" at his finest, what we try to do in the jail. That is, not getting lost in abstract doctrinal debates and prooftexting but letting the story of scripture illuminate what God maybe is already doing in our own lives. Organic theological reflection and a robust faith often emerges...
A Runaway Slave
Wut up dogg? Me, just posted up here in my cell. But peep this: I just wrote something down I was thinking while reading Philemon (I don’t know how to pronounce it) in the New Testament.
Check this out, okay, it talks about Onesimus being Philemon’s slave. Supposedly he jacked [stole from] Philemon y ran. Then later on he found Paul y became a Christian. Then Paul vouched for him and shot out wilas [prison letters] for him to Onesimus’ jefe, and finally Onesimus went back home, connected with Philemon.
I was a slave, to a lot of shit. Unhealthy relationships, sex, breaking the law, gangs y alcohol. I stole hynas’ hearts, made false promises and then bounced. I stole from people, ran from cops and got trapped in the system. I got so involved in gangs and the prison politics, a major player, I became a slave to it all.
All my life I ran from everything, like a runaway slave, like if I was in a race. Never looking back to see who I ran over or who I ran past. It was like I had three demons inside me racing. If it wasn’t the lust demon jumping from hyna to hyna for different sex pleasures, it would be for the gangster demon, hungering to break the law in violence, gangs or prison politics, or it would be the drunken demon who just wanted to fuel himself with alcohol.
Then I bumped into you, Chris, in a way like how Onesimus found Paul when he was on the run. I was on the run from the cops a lot when we met up.
It doesn’t say much of what Paul did to help Onesimus become a Christian but I’m sure lots of conversations y dedication, like what’s been done with me.
I bet it was hard for Onesimus to believe or accept becoming a Christian, something totally different. Just like it was hard for me to believe in Jesus when I couldn’t even believe or trust a vato in front of me. Being a slave and accused of stealing, back then they probably cut your hand off or killed you, so he was probably scared. Just like me, I didn’t know what to expect, I was scared, insecure and not sure of what I wanted.
Paul started writing all these wilas (letters). That’s like you, dogg and the pastors who do the same work at Tierra Nueva: writing to churches, or when you talk to Connie or Rhoda [his daughters’ mothers] and convinced them to allow me to see my daughters, going to battle with dumb C.O.’s [correctional officers] who lose all the visiting paperwork we put together and denied you and my daughters several times, going to court and speaking for homies, shooting wilas to prison officials trying to get me sent to a medium-security facility, talking to people out there about us, letting them know we deserve a second chance or even a third of a fourth. But most importantly helping me fight my demons.
In a way, I am like Philemon, too. Hardheaded. But through your guys’ actions, words, love and dedication to our friendship, God got past my demons first and got to me, through you, dogg. You were God’s letter to me. Pleading Jesus’ case, helping me to overlook and not listen to my demons telling me to not trust Jesus, helping me see that God loves me regardless of me being a slave to lust, gangs y alcohol most of my life.
Now when I get out and face certain bullshit waiting for me, afraid like Onesimus of going back, I know that God already shot out his letters ahead of me. You, R, J, F, H and the Tierra Nueva family, to have my back, vouching for me to people who will still have power over me as a tattooed ex-con in society.
Tell me what you think, dogg. Should I share this kinda stuff with people?
This is fantastic! I've been to prison before and done time on several occasions. This shit this guy's talkin about is REAL! The Catholic volunteers in the county jail saved my life. I got confirmed in there. Got out and kept the walk going. I love it. A bit later I discovered Orthodox Christianity. I am still Roman Catholic but I am steadily studying Orthodoxy. One God, One Love.
Peace & God bless you all!
-ernie
Posted by: Ernie Martello | December 12, 2011 at 12:18 AM