Wednesday and Friday this week I'll be sharing the story of a church deciding to be a Sanctuary church. I was so excited to find a church willing to take this on. Don't forget to look for June 14 "No Kings Day" protests in your area.
New Heaven, New Earth
Sometimes resistance is about stopping changes to our system. We want things put back the way they were. Certainly we want our basic rights guaranteed as promised in our founding documents. All of us are created equal, freedom of speech, the right to protest, and due process. We are innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.
For those of us that are Christian, we go back much further than the founding of the United States and remember that we are all created in God's image, and it is God's breath that gives us life.
One role that church's can play as we resist the abuse of ourselves and our neighbors, is imagine something new. Revelation 7:9-17 suggests that God is not only about preserving the past; God creates a new heaven and a new earth. In that new new creation God dwells among us, wiping tears from every eye. Death, mourning, crying, and pain will pass away. All things are made new.
We have a responsibility as the church to flesh out this image of a new world. In the first century the church lived out the good news of Jesus Christ by sharing what they had in common, by caring for those that society ignored. The earliest image of the God's rule was that there was dinner for everyone, every night. In later years we imagined churches as places of healing for the sick and respite for the traveler. For those alone or in despair the church creates a fictive family. These were all answers to the question "what would our society look like if God were dwelling here among us?"
Now is a good time to ask this question once again.
In the new earth, how would a nation care for our trans and lgbtqia+ siblings? If we were to re-create our safety net, how best would we provide food and housing for those in need? What should be the basic eduction and healthcare promised to all? How can our laws around businesses create an economy whose highest priority is the common good? What should be the criteria for accepting asylum seekers and refugees? For those who simply want to immigrate, where and how should they apply? How can our tax code best support the good for us all?
For the most part, these are not questions we are asking. Certainly the chaos and abuses of this time are taking up a lot of our thinking. But this was just as true for the writer of the book of Revelation. The world around was in upheaval. The people were unsure what was coming, and if this was the end of time. In desperation the writer imagines Jesus arriving victorious to save us, brandishing a sword. I feel that desperation and often wish for savior with a sword.
But the sword that Jesus wields is in his mouth, not his hand (Rev 1:16, 2:16). He is not a superhero beating the bad guys with retributive justice. As much as I love the Marvel Universe, the problems of today are not simple enough to be solved by arresting the right person.
The sword in Jesus mouth is the word of God. It is by Their word that God creates us, by Their word that we were freed from slavery, and Jesus then is for us the word of God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). (In our faith tradition it is not a particular book or story that is the word of God. It is Jesus.)
How can we use God's word to imagine a new heaven and a new earth? This is our calling in this time. We need to gather community to imagine what our next form of nation might be. We need to lead these discussions, holding fast to the requirement to love our neighbor and to work for the common good. We need to listen to those who are hurting, and make sure our new vision takes what we learn into account. And we need to share what we are finding with our elected officials, with our community.
What is your church doing, or thinking about doing these days? How are you being here in your particular place? Just reply to this email to let me know what's happening.
The National Campaign for Moral Monday's starts on July 12. You probably saw that Bishop William Barber was arrested for praying at the US Capital. In the mess of all that is happening, the Poor Peoples' Campaign is focusing on developing a Moral budget for our nation.
Liz Theoharis of the Kairos Center is doing a book release "You Only Get What You are Organized to Take".
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