Since the sudden and unexpected death of Paul Mostyn, the Chaplain at Lithgow jail, I’ve been taking some Sunday Services there. Having been the Chaplain there before Paul, it’s been good to catch up with people I’ve known and see how they’ve been growing in their Christian lives.

Last Sunday, because it would be my last time with the inmates before Christmas, I decided to do something special. Being a maximum security jail there’s not much you can do that is special. The most precious thing I could bring them is what I take every Sunday – Jesus’ words of eternal life. Many of the inmates who come to chapel, knowing they are sinners needing a Saviour, have responded to these words. There was, however, a tangible thing I could do to lift the tone and colour of chapel. Sitting in the cupboard is a solid gold chalice and paten which I have used on special occasions before. I’m not a sacramentalist. The Lord’s Supper is simply a sign of us participating in the sacrifice of Christ’s death on the cross. But a gold chalice and a gold paten just make it a little bit more special in the hard place that a maximum security jail is. And it’s Christmas. We like to decorate and make things special to celebrate.

This communion set was originally given by a mother to her son on the occasion of his ordination in 1914. It was later bequeathed to another clergyman and somehow has found its way into the Lithgow Correctional Centre Chapel. I used this chalice and paten in the two chapel services as we shared the Lord’s Supper and then in the afternoon went to a man who has spent his entire time in jail in segregation (about four years so far).

This man is in segregation for his own safety. His case was very high profile, even prompting the government of NSW to enact laws to specifically deal with him and his case. The people of NSW are happy to lock him up and throw away the key, yet the grace of Christ has touched him. He has told me on numerous occasions that despite having regularly attended church on the outside it has only been as he spoke with Paul and me that he came to understand that Jesus is a personal God and it is only this personal relationship that has been getting him through his current situation.

His only contact with fresh air, outside the four walls of his cell, is a cage of about 12 ft x 20ft. We sat there at a small outdoor table that had some bird droppings on it. In a clear space on the tabletop I put a small white cloth about the size of a handkerchief and placed the gold chalice and paten on it. I looked at the scene: The table, the bird droppings, the cage, the gold and two men. Such a scene spoke of the gospel and reminded me that there was a third person present. Jesus had promised that whenever two or three were gathered in his name, he would be there also. The contrast of the gold, the white cloth and the bird droppings spoke to me of the fact that though he was rich Jesus became poor for us. From heaven to a stable floor. And of course this cup is the sign of God’s new covenant.

So we shared at the Lord’s table. One a respectable person. One a despised person. Both sinners. Both redeemed. Brothers in Christ.