…because Jesus Christ said: “I was in prison and you did not visit me!” (Matthew 25:43)
This year, too, many sermons at Christmas will refer to the prophet Isaiah’s promise: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive a child, and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel: God with us!” Yesterday morning, God was also with 400 prisoners in the city prison of Abancay. A full inner courtyard provided the backdrop for a divine service that touched the heart.
The sermon was preached by John Lentink from the Netherlands. Among other things, he said that we are all sinners before God and need forgiveness. It doesn’t matter which side of the prison wall we are on. The songs sung by our staff also spoke to the feelings of prisoners scarred by life.
At the end of the event 400 men and women received a Christmas cake, warm stockings and literature. The Diospi Suyana team drove a total of three hours through the mountains and voluntarily invested their Saturday morning. A surprise awaited Doris Manco, head of our media center, in the women’s department. “We listen to Diospi Suyana’s radio program here,” said some of the ladies. These listeners alone would have made the efforts of our media people worthwhile.
When we admit to ourselves that we need God’s closeness and His help, we have arrived at the epicenter of the Christmas message. /KDJ
