God’s unconditional love is shown through Jesus’ sacrifice. We are not meant to be imprisoned by the devil but delivered.
Agape, this unconditional and total love, is not manifested in a general way, but rather through God sending his son. During the narratives of Jesus’ passion, we heard that he voluntarily entered the passion, and endured all the humiliations and ultimately died for us. God is not in agreement with the fact that we may remain in the tomb in jail. In the first reading, we heard about the apostles being thrown into the public jail, which is a symbol of the world powers that would like to change the truth and limit it. However, if God is working in those followers of Jesus who supposedly have risen, then we are not going to be able to squash it and destroy it.
The jail that the disciples were thrown into is a symbol of our own jail and enclosure. Just picture it – a cell without windows, where people are thrown in and suffocating, dying of lack of oxygen, being beaten up, ill-treated, and discouraged. This is the symbol of what happens when we end up being enslaved by the devil. However, Jesus Christ doesn’t want us to remain there. God so loved the world, meaning you and me, that He sent his son in a rescue operation to deliver those who are sick and tired of living a life of a prisoner.
On one hand, we have an empty tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ that the women found. On the other hand, the Jewish authorities go to the jail cell and find it securely locked but with no one inside. The angel descended and opened the jail in a divine and mysterious way, so that no one can explain how the disciples were imprisoned. They were already outside preaching, which caused my attention. The angel didn’t tell them to go home and relax, but to spread the news right away and speak to all those who might be in jail inside their lives, incarcerated and living in darkness.
The worst-case scenario is that we can get used to our jail, our incarceration, and the state of being chained and living in darkness. Even if someone is sent to us, telling us that they want to deliver us, we might still refuse to leave because we’re afraid of what’s outside. However, as a matter of fact, there is a psychological syndrome, a condition of people…
Unfortunately, the last sentence seems incomplete and doesn’t make sense in the context of the text. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.
