Flipping Tables

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
Give deliverance to the needy,
And crush the oppressor.

We can’t do this alone.

We need each other to see this all the way through, to see the advent of New Creation. We also need God. We need the divine source to fuel us, fill us, and follow through with their promises.

There is so much we can do… but there’s so much we can’t. By entering into a partnership with each other and with God we create an unstoppable alliance for good. Justice shall come rolling like a river. Mercy, grace, and love shall guide us. The oppressors power will be smashed and we will all be liberated.

These are the promises of God, and God is faithful. God will do what God says, and God has said the needy, the poor, the oppressed will be liberated and healed. We who imagine and work for New Creation are enacting the promises of God. We are making good on the prayers we’ve prayed and putting hands to the dreams of justice that we all long for.

This is the reality of waiting for the advent of New Creation, waiting for the dawn to break, waiting for the hope of the world to come true.

Rejoice! The night is passing and the promise of the restoration of all things is here.

But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Let’s be clear: we’re not just waiting for a new system of capitalism, patriarchy, class warfare, or any other forms of injustice. We are waiting and working for a whole New Creation, a new heaven and a new earth, where justice is so ingrained there isn’t even a thought of domination, power struggles, oppression, or systems of injustice.

What we want, what we wait for, what we work for is nothing short of the obliteration of this world system of powers and principalities and a replacement of it with equity, equality, and enjoyment for all. When we testify to New Creation, we are announcing the promise of true liberty and justice for all, no exceptions.

This is what the cosmos and time bend towards. Liberation and justice are our inevitable end. We are going to be at peace with goodwill towards all humanity. Never lose sight of this promise. Never settle for less than justice at home among us all.

Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.

This other world we believe in isn’t just a head in the clouds pipe dream. It is the promise of a future that will come to be because it already is here.

When we imagine a world free from empire, when we envision liberation from systems of power and domination, when we stand against the powers and principalities that obscenely pull the strings of our society, we prove the reality of another world. The fact that we can imagine and work towards another way of existing is proof that that way is possible. The longer we hold hope, the more we testify to the fact that a kingdom of New Creation is our destiny.

When we dream we give credence to the promise that heaven and earth are made for New Creation. When we hope, we admit and proclaim that we are created to bring about the New Creation we are promised.

As above, so below. As in heaven, so on earth. The will of the divine is a kingdom of justice and equity. That is what we dream of and what we work towards.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

In the face of Christian nationalism, oppression, and suffering, we need a better religion. Advent is a religious season of waiting for the day to break and the night to be scattered. But we can't write it off as simply religious. There is something deeply real about the way advent asks us to practice our religion: we are to be the first light of the new day.

We are called to be the embodiment of hope, and that means we have to actually put our feet on the ground, our hands in the dirt, and get dirty. We can't just sit back and critique empire from our armchairs. We have to show a different way.

When we take care of those experiencing oppression, helplessness, hurt, and suffering, we are doing the work of unlearning empire, of waiting with hope for the New Creation. When we keep each other from falling into the traps of oppressive thinking and opportunistic living, we are living a religion that is more powerful than any pulpit, prayer, or psalm could ever be. When we choose to live for the sake of other people, we are choosing to lean into justice, and that justice will crumble the power and principalities of empire.

The second is this: You must love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.

You can't love justice and not love the people right in front of you.

We don't get to choose who our neighbors are. They are the people we see in need, the people next to us under the thumb of empire. We can't say we want to overturn empire, to unlearn the systems of privilege and power, to plant the seeds of New Creation if we aren't willing to love the people we see every day. Even when these people don't have our interests in mind, even when they see us as enemies, even when they contribute to the oppressive systems that encase us all, we are called to love them. This is how we do justice, by loving people even when they don't love us.

Does this mean we just let them walk all over us? By no means! Loving people includes holding them accountable fo the harm they do because we believe they can do better. This is the greatest calling of being a human: to see the unlimited potential of goodness in each person and to work to help each person bring it to fruition. We are called to help the best of humanity flourish, and we do that with love, with care for the whole person to the point that we ask them to live justice more fully, just as we ask this of ourselves.

We love each person as ourselves because we are all interconnected, and the truth stands: none of us are free until all of us are free.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

Fear feeds empire. The systems of power and oppression that lord over us want us to be afraid. They want us to fear them, to fear what they can do to us, to fear challenging the system. Punishment is the tool empire uses to keep us in line, to keep us afraid.

Empire can punish us. The system can take away material possessions with the loss of a paycheck. It can deport through immoral legislation. It can take away civil rights just because it deems you sinful. It can harm us with militarized police forces and a bloated military. On the surface, it seems like there is too much to fear.

Fear like this, all pervasive and constantly threatening. It stalks us and keeps us docile.

We don’t have to be afraid.

We have something that empire doesn’t understand. We have love. When we love, we stop seeing people as the enemies, and begin to understand that no matter how rich or powerful someone is, they are trapped by the fear of the system just as much (if not more) as anyone else.

We can love our way to freedom because love casts out fear. When we fall in love with humanity and this idea of New Creation, we can stop being afraid because we know that no matter what empire does to us, it cannot stop us. New Creation is on the way, and we all will be set free from the fragile empire that threatens us with the promise of violence.

We are after nothing less than the liberation and transformation of all people, no matter how plugged in and entangled in the systems of power they are.

We don’t lash out in fear; we fight for what we love.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

It takes vision to see a new world. We have to look past the way things are and dream of an entirely new way of living and loving. That vision can propel us towards the reality of a new world… but only if we trust that it can come true.

We move in a reality that wants to blind us to the possibility of a new world. Empire wants us to believe that there is no hope of change, that this is how things are always going to be, how they have to be. But when we choose faith in the promise of New Creation, we refuse to let empire close its icy grip and strangle our souls. Faith tells us that the New Creation is coming. When we keep that faith, kindling it in our souls, we hold to a conviction that empire is dying and we are birthing another world. Faith, trust that spurs us to action, assures us that New Creation is coming because we see the New Creation in ourselves.

We are the proof that hope will win. We are the assurance that the dream will not die. We are the conviction that New Creation will bloom and flourish. We are the artifacts and the architects of a faith that will carry us out of the grip of empire and into the reality of a new day.

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

There is a day when the actions and attitudes of every person's heart is going to be laid bare. Through deeds done, people's intentions are revealed. And on the day when everything is opened, every secret unhidden, every motive shown in the light, we will see who is holy.

Holiness is more than just some morality. Holiness is about peace and justice. When we do the work of New Creation, of birthing a new world in the midst of empire, we are doing holy work. When we act with equity, we are doing holy work. When we make peace and reconciliation, we are doing holy work. When we act with justice and speak out against oppression, we are doing holy work.

But sometimes it feels like everything in the world is working against our holy efforts.

Indeed, everything about this world's system does stand against us. This world doesn't | want to give up power. This world doesn't want to fade off quietly into the night. This world doesn't want New Creation. So, it opposes our every effort and actively works to undermine our work.

But divine goodness and truth are on our side. It's been said that the arc of the universe bends towards justice. That arc, that bending towards justice, gives us hope that no matter how bleak things may look in our struggles against powers and principalities, against systems of power and oppression, against empire, we can be assured that in the end we will be victorious. If we're not victorious, it's not the end.

So we fight with assurance, not blind hope. We fight we a hope that is rooted in the promise that if God is for us, if divine justice and peace is on our side, nothing will be able to stand against us forever. Empire will fall and we will heat our weary bones on the fires of the crumbled empire. We win. There's no way around that fact. No matter how empire bucks and tosses its head, it's all the throes of death. The old is passing, and the new has come.

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

The hope of liberation is what we wait for. But even as we wait, we are transformed into the reality of New Creation. There is a hidden truth here: if anyone is in the spirit of liberation and freedom, they are already New Creation.

As we look at our friends, conspiratory comrades, and fellow believers, we are witnessing new creation. We are seeing the result of the first fruits of resurrection coming to fruition. We are bearing witness and testifying to a new world that is breaking in, being birthed, already showing up in those of us who are praying and acting for revolution.

We are the New Creation. We are the hope coming true. We are the reality, the marker, the sign that New Creation is real, is coming, and is here. What is old, the systems of power and oppression, empire, and tyranny, these things are passing away. They are on their death rattle, fighting tooth and nail to try and retain power and privilege that has already been ripped out of its. Lunches and destroyed.

Live into the reality that together, we are New Creation, and you have become new.

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.

Peace looks radically different from empire. Peace isn’t just some sort of cease-fire with empire. Peace is a radical reorientation and reordering of the entire way we live in community. It is society flipped on its head, where those we see now as small and weak are the leaders of the way into New Creation.

New Creation is a place of redemption, a place where enemies cease enmity. Those that have been the consuming forces will lay down their weapons and fangs and be at true peace with those who have been consumed. This is liberation for us all, bottom to top. No one is left out, but everyone is transformed.

This is the promise of New Creation. This is the promise of a new economy. This is the promise of a new society. All things made new and nothing and no one is left behind.

If everything is going to become new and all are going to be transformed, then we can begin envisioning and enacting this upside down kingdom now. Listen and follow and sit in solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized. Begin making peace with your enemies. Stop participating in the oppression of others when you see it. Make noise. Raise a holy ruckus. We have a new society, a new economy, a whole New Creation coming. Let’s live into the dream.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Complacency breeds conformity. When we begin to become unaware of the systems of power and oppression around us, we will begin to live according to their patterns of thought and belief. We need to be continually on guard and vigilant against the way empire creeps inside of us and makes us in its image.

This requires constant transformation. We need to work against empire thinking and towards new creation thinking. As we continually work to change our thoughts and behaviors, we begin to discern the good we can do even though we are within the system. We begin to see our dreams become reality and our hopes come true. We can differentiate between the lies of empire and the truth of New creation, even when empire wraps its lies in a grain of truth. As we wait this advent, looking for the dawn to break, we can help each other transform our minds, renewing hope and dreams. We can help each other see where empire has seeped in and where new creation is blooming.

Be transformed by this vision of another world so we can all identify and nurture the seeds of new creation.

Ho, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.

In the promise of the New Creation we’re waiting for is a promise of justice and equity. There is a different way we can live, a way that makes sure everyone not only has the minimum to get by, but has rich food, bountiful drink, sustenance to spare. We’re waiting and working for this new economy.

This new way of living requires us to imagine a better world, one that we can’t yet see. When we dream of what true freedom, justice, and equity mean, we are planting the seeds of a new creation that will uproot empire.

Dream big! We need imaginations that challenge us, that stretch us, that give us ways to achieve the impossible. This is how we bring down the walls of empire. We will dance on the ashes of empire because we dared to imagine a better way.

The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Capitalism would have you believe that might makes right. Those with all the wealth hold the power to dictate life for the rest of us. This is how power systems work; they thrive on all of us scrambling to get to the top, usually at the expense of others.

But, the economy of New Creation is inverted, upside down, and see as foolish to empire. In the kingdom of God, in that New Creation, if you want to be great, you will serve your neighbor, not use them. The people that declare themselves great, that they have won the rat race, are going to be humbled, because everything they hold dear that has been obtained in this system of power is going to be shown to be what it really is: nothing. Money, fame, and power are empty in New Creation because they are not grounded in and made up of love for each other.

Those who humble themselves, who pour themselves into the work of love, who give themselves to the care of others, these are the people who will be sought after because they have put in the effort to make the dream of New Creation Real.

So what kind of people will we be as we wait this advent season? Are we waiting for gifts under the tree, for more things, for more power? Or, are we waiting for opportunities and chances to love our neighbors?

If we are serious that another world is possible, we have to reorient our priorities and values away from power, fame, wealth, and all else that oppresses and ostracizes other people. We have to value humility, care, love, servanthood. By changing what we value, we begin enacting New Creation, making it real here in the shadow of empire.

Set your minds on things that are above, not things that are on earth.

Our ability to wait, to act, to stay the course in the face of the systems of power and oppression depends on our perspective.

It’s easy to believe the lies that power is the goal, that wealth will make us happy, that violence and destruction are the way to victory. It’s easy to go with the flow, to keep our heads down and just get by. It’s easy to buy into the ways of empire because they are all around us and we’ve internalized so many of these falsehoods.

But these lies will kill us, those we love, and indeed the whole cosmos. There is no freedom in the ways of empire, only enslavement and oppression for everyone. These are the things of earth, the things of this world system that is set up to keep us working for nothing and striving for phantoms.

We need to change our perspective.

When we look at things from the point of view of New Creation, we become hopeful because we begin to see the good that is already here as we wait for everything to be set right. That perspective shift from the world systems to the promise of New Creation gives us the hope we need to continue the work, to fight against the powers and principalities of this world.

Look ahead. Don’t get tunnel vision, fixing your eyes on the troubles and evils of this world. Look to where our hope comes from. Restoration is coming; can you begin to see it now? This is how we retain life in a system of death.

He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

It can feel so overwhelming to think about working for new creation, to do the work of hope. There is so much pushing against us, willing us to fail and capitulate to empire and its toxic ways. We have to fight anti-trans legislation, bigotry in all its forms, racism, sexism, classism, even our religious institutions that say they are all about new creation can be just tools of empire bent on seeing us fail and fall in line.

But there is a deeper truth to resistance: it’s simple. It’s not easy by any means, but it is simple. We do the work of justice that is ours to do; we love kindness; we live humble lives, trying to detach from empire, ready to admit when we are still functioning in the ways of empire. It’s a simple call, a simple way, a simple work. But it is profoundly revolutionary.

We can’t take empire on in its totality. It is too complex, too intersectional, too much of a jumbled mess for any one of us to take on. But we are not alone. When more and more of us do the work of justice where we can, when more and more of us love kindness, when more and more of us live humble, simple lives of honesty and integrity, this is how empire falls. Us together are a force beyond ourselves. And it starts with simplicity.

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

People are not our enemies. People are enslaved, oppressed, casualties in the quest of empire for dominance. It’s easy to blame people—the rich, the powerful, the people we don’t like—for the way this world is. But the truth is there are forces we cannot see that are pulling the strings.

People that hoard wealth and power have bought into a scarcity mindset, something that was passed down to them by generational teaching and societal conditioning. They are victims of empire just like we are. They are responsible for how they respond to their victimization, just like we are. When they oppress others, they pass judgment on themselves.

But our struggle isn’t against specific people, as if we can overthrow one person and gain liberation. No, we have to work against systems of oppression and power, against powers and principalities, against seemingly cosmic forces that control every aspect of our cultures, our societies, and our lives. Capitalism, patriarchy, bigotry, sexism, classism… all these things and more are what we fight against. To fight against one is to fight against all, and all of them must fall if we are going to see a new creation, another world, a new way of existence.

We can call these things what they are: evil. People are corrupted by this evil. People are the casualties of this evil. People are enslaved by this evil. But people aren’t this evil. We have to look past the faces of our fellow suffering humans to the systems and structures of oppression and power that are the sources of this evil. We fight against an evil that relies on the victimized and enslaved to keep it going. The more people we help heal from the wounds empire has inflicted, the less strength and integrity the machine of suffering has.

Liberation is coming! Let’s stop hurting each other, making other humans the enemy. We fight against evil powers and principalities, and they deserve to be dismantled.

[The Lord] who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
The Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The long cycles of time bend toward justice and liberation.

In the end, justice for the oppressed will happen. The hungry will be fed, prisoners set free, and all will be well. If this isn’t true yet, it’s not the end.

While God brings these things into being over time, it is up to us to enact these things in the here and now. We are the ones waiting for justice, and we can refuse to wait in silence. We can cry out against empire. We can work to drive a spear into the spokes of the machines of power and oppression. We can, should, must join with those who have come before us and those that will come after us to do the works of liberation. This is how we align ourselves with the right side of history.

At advent, we might wait, but we also plot and dream of ways to be part of the long game, the bend towards justice and liberation. God is about justice. Shouldn’t we be as well. The Divine has a plan to set all things right, and we are that plan. We are the hands and feet of the divine dream of the marginalized lifted up, the needy filled, and the wicked people ruined.

Don’t be afraid to play your part. We are all in this together. And in the end, justice and liberation will be what flourishes for us all.

Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

In New Creation, there is no privilege.

Privilege comes from power structures that favor one group over another. Privilege comes from colonialism moving forth in manifest destiny to push out anyone deemed “uncivilized.” Privilege comes from the enslavement of human bodies. Privilege comes from oppression, from capitalism and trickle-down economics, from the hoarding of resources and wealth. From scapegoating problems onto “those people.”

We work and hope for a day when society is truly egalitarian, with flattened authority and truly democratic voices for all.

We’re not there yet though. Privilege still exists and has been handed down from generations past. When we find privileges and positions of power in our life, we have a responsibility to use them wisely. We need to utilize our privilege to elevate other people, our positions of power, to tear down the barriers of oppression.

Hope crosses all boundaries, and the privilege we have needs to be laid down for the sake of other people. No longer do we get to sit back and say, “well that’s not my problem.” That’s privilege in action. We are all in this together, using everything we’ve been given and everything we have earned to help us all achieve the dream of no partiality.

Drop your defenses and open your arms. It’s time we embrace each other, lift each other up, and lock arms in solidarity against the powers and principalities that seek to separate and pit us against one another. We hope, we wait for new creation, and we begin to enact that hope, even when it costs us comfort, wealth, and stability. We belong to each other; that’s how we get out of this.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

When we hope, we hope for the cosmos.

It’s not just us that need to be freed from empire, capitalism, power, and privilege. The world around us is oppressed, subjugated, and abused. Our work of hope must include ecological considerations and action if we are going to stop the machine from crushing everything around us as it devours resources for the pleasure and comfort of the oligarchs.

We are kept in submission at the expense of the planet. Our very needs, like food and shelter, are given to us out of the stripped resources of the land. Plants and animals are all feeling the hurt, being pushed aside and crowded out of homes and ecosystems in the name of “progress.” Minerals are mined until the land is stripped of nutrients and replaced with pollutants and toxic waste.

Creation is crying out for a savior… and we can be part of the messianic promise given to the very Earth that nourishes us. When we do the work of hope, of justice, of New Creation, we need to do it with the elements, the fish and birds, the beasts of the field, and the plants in mind. They are not an afterthought. When we say all are free or none are free, this includes the oppression of the planet.

We are all in this together. The Earth that birthed us needs her children to fight the darkness, the power and abuse that will kill her. When we become ungovernable, we give the land back to itself so it can give itself to the people. We care for the land and the land cares for us. We are in a relationship of reciprocity as we continue to hope for the day we all live free in an abundant, unshackled, liberated world.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

We are going to get what we work for.

If we spend our time investing and working in a capitalistic system, we may find material security and possibly some wealth… but it’s temporary. The system gives, and the system takes away. Under capitalism and empire, there is no security unless you can enforce some sort of control with fear and power, and let’s be honest, none of us is on top of the food chain.

So, what would happen if we didn’t work and invest in a capitalistic system? What if we worked for New Creation, for this other world that’s possible? Justice is going to win. The revolution will come. The tables will be flipped. Then, the works we have done in the dark night of empire will be exposed in the light and seen for what they are.

The rich won’t have anything to stand on. Those who filled bellies and storehouses at the expense of others will lose what little they have left. Those who are in power now, with ease and comfort, will have sorrow for their companion because all that they put their hope in will be shown to be nothing more than a shadow.

But the work of Justice, of New Creation, of hope, these works will be welcome for all the beauty, tenderness, and treasure they are. We who are oppressed now, who suffer under the systems of empire yet continue to cry out and hope, we will be lifted from the dust, given good things, and finally be able to live in equality and love.

The fulfillment of hope is coming. Empire doesn’t win in the end. Justice is coming.

Then Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.

He left them, went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.

If we are going to be people who dream and talk about the possibility of another world, we have to be people who act like another world is possible. Justice needs to begin taking shape among us, otherwise our hope is nothing but clanging cymbals and dead language.

It takes courage to do justice in the middle of empire. You often get labeled “rebellious” and “troublemaker.” People don’t like it when the status quo gets rocked; it upsets the delicate alliance we have with empire.

But upsetting the balance is exactly what we need. As long as we are willing to let things stay the way they are, another world won’t be realized. Revolution doesn’t happen to us. We are the revolution. Our actions, attitudes, and attention dictate what we are willing to put effort into, what we are willing to work for, what we are willing to change. If we are serious about helping to birth new creation as much as we can now, we have to be willing to change the way things are.

It’s ok to be scared. It’s ok to be unsure. But remember, we are in this together. When we challenge the powers and principalities of this world system, we do it together. And together all our small actions, our changing attitudes, and our widening attention will create waves of discomfort, challenging the status quo, and flipping the sacred tables that are putting consumerism and capitalism on display instead of inviting people to come and find their place in the work of new creation.

Together we act. Together we stand. Together we don’t let things stay the same.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

As we wait for the promise of new creation fully come alive, it's easy to lose hope. Sometimes, we begin to feel like empire is all there will be, that nothing will change, and we are stuck forever in an endless struggle.

But the victory of liberation is on its way. We need to remember and talk about it with each other. The more we talk, the more we remember. And the more we remember, the more we hope. And the more we hope the more we dream of ways to help birth the reality that another world is here.

Dream big and tell the truth out loud: new creation is coming and is here. We wait together with hope and anticipation. The promise is real and the new world is breaking in.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

During Advent we look forward to the transformation of this world into a new creation, a place where we are free and liberated. If we want to live in this liberation, we need to be transformed. Just as the world around us waits for new creation, we are waiting to see the new creation in ourselves, a transformation from slaves to the world systems of power and oppression into free people living into our own agency and power.

The thing is, to be liberated, we need to find our solidarity with the lowly, the powerless, the small and seemingly meaningless things of this enslaved world. In the margins is where we find the power of empire unraveling. When we become ungovernable, believing Christ alone is king, our priorities stop being the accumulation of wealth and fame, of power and prestige. As we become free of what marketing and empire tries to sell us, we give up privilege and find our place among the marginalized. And it’s in the margins is where we can most clearly see how possible New Creation is because we are no longer blinded by greed and the struggle for power.

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

We believe another world is possible and is coming, a world where freedom rings true. Not the false freedom of empire, enforced with hierarchy, violence, and fear. We believe that freedom from systems of power and oppression, from powers and principalities, from the socialization into empire we all experience from birth, we believe that freedom from these things is what we are made for.

Jesus came announcing the good news, that there is liberation, from fear, from oppression, from violence, and all the rest that makes up empire. This liberation is available now if we decide to live according to love, according to caring for one another, according to the ethos of a new creation.

Even as we live this new ethos, we still function in the reality of empire. That reality can make us feel like we are confined, chained, still stuck under the yoke of these world systems. Patriarchy and capitalism seem to keep us in their chains.

But we are free! Even as we navigate the reality of the empire, we are not bound to do things the way of the empire. We can dream of new ways of living. We can plant the seeds of freedom in other people by our examples of non-capitulation to the fear of the systems of power and oppression.

Advent is a time to announce our freedom. We may still be in the darkness of empire, but we are not enslaved to it. It’s time for us to live as if we are free because we are.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

During this season of Advent, we celebrate waiting in the darkness. It sounds funny to celebrate the dark, but it’s only in the dark that we see the light for what it is: hope.

In this world that is filled with hurt, oppression, pain, and rejection, we hope for something better. We hope for the Year of the Lord’s favor, this jubilee. Jubilee was built into the laws of Israel to give people hope. It was a year of rest, a year of debt forgiveness, a year when land was returned to its original owners. This was the year of the Lord’s favor, an earthly taste of a divine world.

This world is possible. This world is coming. This world is what we hope and dream about. Jesus came proclaiming this world into the darkness of empire. And Jesus did more than simply talk about it. Jesus worked towards it.

Jesus gave sight to the blind. He offered release to those captive by the powers and principalities of his day. Jesus announced and enacted a different way, the way of jubilee.

Let’s hope together, dreaming in the darkness of empire of a hope that is promised to come true. Another world is possible, and, just like Jesus did, we get to announce and enact it in this world.

Wait in the darkness, but wait with hope.