Another piece from Barth as Willimon writes about this "All" of salvation.
Barth gives thanks that he is preaching "in a house where there are so many closed doors," where he doesn't have to expend much homliletical effort explaining the word "prisoner." He then reminds the inmates that the text says that "all" are prisoners - some enslaved by socialist Utopian dreams, others imprisoned by illness or the deprivations' "of the so-called 'free world,' not to mention death." Barth implies that the prisoners have an advantage in understanding the Scripture since their imprisonment is undeniable, unlike the faithful at First Church Basel.
I cannot imagine being in a prison. I have heard that the sound of the iron doors closing after you enter is a frightening moment. There is no getting out. There is no living...as you were living. The door is closed. And yet, that is where this story of God's Reign begins. Doors are open and all who are prisoners are released. No one is left behind - not one.
Open up our lives, O God, and pull us into places and times within our lives where we will be needed to display your loving presence that your image may become clear to those around us. Amen.
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