The way of escape

We walked into a solitary confinement cell at Alcatraz. Dark and small.  With double doors to keep out any light. No way of escape.

The prisoners that were allowed to look outside or walk to the yard, had stunning views of San Francisco and the surrounding towns. Beautiful hills and shores.

But those in solitary saw nothing much beyond the confining walls of their dark cells.

Time marches on

History didn’t stand still as prisoners lived out their sentences.  On New Year’s Eve they could hear the celebrations going on across the waters.  They watched fires burn all over San Francisco following the earthquake of 1906. From prison windows in the 1930s, some of them witnessed the building of a magnificent piece of architecture across the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge. All from this little island with its rocky shores and cement block cells.

Way of escape

In the walls of their containment, they found ways to escape. Some painted. Others read the likes of Kant and Hegel. Several in the darkness of solitary said they watched movies in their heads, pulling up memories to replace the inky black around them. Some plotted and schemed and executed their literal escape. Of those who attempted this, most never made it through the rough waters and strong currents to shore. Some of the escapees drowned, others were never found.

Redemption

There were a few stories of redemption in the mix. One met Jesus there and continued to tell his story of salvation until he died. Some found new pursuits  after they’d done their time. A former inmate was signing autographs on his autobiography as we passed through the Alcatraz gift store with its t-shirts and books and posters and coffee mugs.

Prison metaphor

The metaphor of this prison island does not escape me. Caught in the sin that so easily entangles, people can live out their sentence in a variety of ways.

There are those who deny their sin and proclaim innocence, never facing the reality of what they’ve done.

Others are trapped in guilt, beating themselves up with regret and anger, thinking there’s no way they can ever be free.

Still others plot ways of escape, thinking they can flee the prison and any consequences. But the escaped prisoner is always hunted. Never resting easy. Never assured the past won’t catch up with him. The escaped prisoner is never truly free.

He sets the captives free

Isaiah described the coming Messiah as One who would proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners. True freedom. An undeserved liberty. A costly exchange. Only possible when He took the penalty of our sin on Himself.  Because of His death on the cross, no one is “irredeemable” as the Alcatraz sign declared.  If they believe in Jesus Christ and repent of their sin, their chains are gone, they’ve been set free!

His promise

As we left the prison cell block that day, rain was starting to fall. We headed down the hill, under our umbrella, toward the ferry port.

Then we saw it.

In the mix of sun and storm, a rainbow shimmered off the side of the prison island. Brilliant colors set against a dark cloud.

“For God loved the world in this way: he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Hope shimmers against the darkness. His promise endures.

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