VIEW FROM A PRISON WINDOW

Valerie Clark He lay on his prison bed, staring at the four dirty walls. Days and days had passed in a meaningless blur, but some-one had mentioned that tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and Tembo pondered this fact. Christmas Day! When last had he thought about Christmas Day? Certainly not for many years. His mind went back to the carefree childhood days when he and his family lived in a small hutted village, far from signs of civilization. There the goats ran free, and every day was full of laughter. Tembo and his three brothers and four sisters had learnt to do many chores, from sweeping the ground outside their family hut, to herding the goats into the enclosure. At night, they would all sleep well, tired out from the day’s activities. One day, a white missionary lady had arrived in the village, manoeuvring her old beaten-up panel van between the anthills and tree roots. Tembo had been fascinated, and for days he had watched her closely, amazed at the things she said and did. She seemed to like them all and had tried hard to speak their language. When Tembo’s sister had fallen and cut her knee open, “Mama” Grace had bathed it and bound it up so lovingly. Every day, underneath the big thorn tree, she would set up a big board and on it she would stick a cross and talk about a Man called Jesus. “Mama” Grace told the same story every day. Tembo got to know it well. The God who made this world sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross. His death was to wash away our sins. Our hearts are black with sin, but Jesus’ Blood would make them white and pure. On a very hot summer’s day, when the flies were everywhere and the land needed rain, “Mama” Grace had announced that it was Christmas Day. She said it was a very important day, and everyone must stop what they were doing and listen to her story. Nobody minded stopping work, and soon all were gathered under the tree. “Mama” Grace told the Christmas story. She had little carved figurines that she carefully set out on a table. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be the Saviour of the world, to save us from our sin. The star guided the Wise Men to the stable, and there the Baby Jesus lay in a humble straw bed. Each Wise Man had a gift for the new King. The shepherds, people like them who watched over sheep and goats, were kneeling before Jesus, worshipping Him. Angels with outspread wings, were standing behind the Baby’s parents. As the missionary lady set out the scene she began to sing, “O come let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!” Lying on his prison bed, Tembo was surprised that he could still remember the tune. He hummed it through a couple of times, and then put the words to it. Before he could reach the end of the song, tears were streaming down his face and he started sobbing. So much had happened since that Christmas Day nearly twenty-five years ago. “Mama” Grace had said that to put your trust in this Saviour of the world would be to enjoy peace and great joy. There had been no peace or joy in his life for many a year. He groaned aloud when he thought of all the evil he had done. But back on that day, he hadn’t understood what the missionary lady had been saying, and it seemed, neither had any of the other villagers. A couple of months later, “Mama” Grace, with a sad look in her eyes, had packed her few belongings and said goodbye to them all. “Jesus is the One to save you from your sin,” she had said as she stood beside her panel van. “Remember, He is the Saviour of the world, the Bright and Morning Star.” Tears were stream-ing down her face as the vehicle lurched away. Staring out of the small, barred window, Tembo saw a particularly bright star. He wondered where the missionary lady was and if she was still telling people about Jesus, the Bright and Morning Star. Probably she had died by now and had gone to that place called Heaven that she had so often spoken of. Tembo had left his home as a teenager in order to find work in a faraway place. There, life had been so different and frightening. As time went by, he got caught up with bad people and found himself doing bad things. He never thought about his home or his mother and father. It made him deeply unhappy to do so. They would be so sorrowful if they knew the life he was leading. He hadn’t been back home for many, many years. Now, in a lonely prison cell, past memories flooded his mind as he stared up at the star. “And you shall call His Name JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins.” Tembo recited the verse and was thinking of those afternoons underneath the big thorn tree. The missionary lady would be surprised and pleased to know that he had remembered these words. He climbed down from his bed and knelt down, bowing his head. “Jesus, Saviour of the World,” he prayed, “please save me from my sins. Wash them away in Your blood, and give me a clean heart. Be my Bright and Morning Star.” When Christmas morning broke over that prison house, a “sinner saved by grace” woke up with a smile on his face. NOW he understood everything that “Mama” Grace had taught them all those years ago. Now he too could worship Christ the King! That Christmas day, other prisoners woke to the sound of Tembo’s rich voice singing: “O come let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him! O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!”