NOVEMBER
Romans 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Being a public sinner carries a particular burden. Your name and face are splashed across newspapers and TV. You have a record. You are listed on Internet Web sites, cast out from among the good people, and made to wear a prison uniform, eat prison food, follow prison rules, and live prison life until the day you are set free.

Except, you are never really free again. Your public sin follows you, like an albatross tied around your neck, for the rest of your life. No one will rent to you. People don't want you in their neighborhoods. You must forever check the box that says "convicted of a felony" on employment applications. No one will hire you. People avoid you. You travel your difficult journey alone.

What if all our sins were public sins? What if all our mistakes were broadcast, forever, for everyone to see? In reality, we all carry our own prisons around inside of us.

Thanks be to God for Christ Jesus! Because he died as a prisoner, between two thieves, outside the city gates, there is now — right now in this moment — no condemnation for any of us. No matter what our prisons look like, we are free.

Offering Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us all, poor sinners. Amen.

Offering Focus: Your offerings support the Women of the ELCA grants program, which supports domestic and international non-profit organizations.

Karen Wong, AIM, is executive director of Project Return of Central Illinois, a 2007 Women of the ELCA grant recipient organization that partners ELCA churches with women transitioning out of prison.