Empire

Several weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the idea of Kingdom. I've been thinking more and more about this topic and reading more. A quick semantic change is in order - I liked the word Kingdom, because Jesus spoke about a new Kingdom - and I like the idea of the one true Kingdom replacing the old kingdom. But, many theologians use the word Empire and perhaps this is a better fit. It's less confusing than having two "kingdoms" and not every empire is a monarchy and therefore not a kingdom.

So, let's focus on Empire for a while.

If you wish to see an emaciated, neutered "church," look no further than a faith and the faithful who side with big business over the little guy, the strong over the weak and the rich over the poor. Find a congregation which proudly hangs their countries flag alongside the Christian flag - with no regard to the thousands of men, women, and children killed by their military each year. Find a building that gets filled on Sundays but sits empty during the week while the homeless sleep outside. In short - look for a church that sees no problem with Empire and you will see a church that has little to do with Christ and his Kingdom.

The problem of Empire is systemic. It surrounds all of us in our daily lives. For a quick example - think about the food that you eat every day.

I don't eat many highly-processed foods any more. Most of my diet is one or two steps away from the farm. This is less a socio-conscious choice and more a reality of living in a different part of the world. In the last two weeks I have had some peanut butter and cinnamon toast crunch my parents mailed to me, McDonald's hamburgers and fries, a bottle of Sprite, and some packaged crab. Beyond these indulgences, everything I have consumed has been preservative free. I can pronounce everything that goes into my body - and that's a wonderful feeling.

In America our tax money goes to subsidies certain crops - corn is an excellent example. Corn is made less expensive so that it can be grown more profitably by more large scale farms. However, most Americans don't eat corn in a significantly higher quantity than any other vegetable. We consume corn byproducts. Corn-syrup is in everything. It's a highly processed sickeningly sweet chemical byproduct of corn and we ingest it daily and give it to our children like candy. No, really, like candy which is usually sweetened using corn syrup. How many foods have you eaten in the last week which weren't produced by a large-scale operation? If you wanted to eat preservative free - would it even be possible? I don't think so - not unless you were quite wealthy.

Ahh, the wealthy. Another nice side effect of Empire. Our economic policy relies on a system which rewards greed. Those who are best at the sin of greed make the most money and Christians don't seem to be fairing too badly at this game. I don't feel that it is necessarily a bad thing for a Christian to be wealthy - I just think we shouldn't try so hard to be wealthy. In pursuit of Empire, we sometimes forget the Kingdom. Our time, energy, and talents go into building up a temporary empire and not into the eternal Kingdom. This is a shame.

The Kingdom of God is like kudzu. If you've never lived in the south, you don't know the ever-present reality of kudzu. It is a plant that is literally unstoppable. It starts off as such a small little plant - it even has a pretty purple flower - but don't be fooled. Kudzu has a bite. It grows, and grows, and grows. It can tear through concrete and wrap it's spindly arms around the inner-workings of your car and cause so much damage. It overgrows everything within a short amount of time.

The Kingdom of God will prevail over Empire. This is a fact - not a prediction, a question, or a guesstimate. There is only one prevalent question. When the Kingdom of God has triumphed over Empire - which side will you have fought for?

Today, life in L'viv might get interesting. There is a large protest against the President scheduled for the main square - these are the same people who ushered in the Orange Revolution - and it might get a little crazy. Later in the day a ragtag bunch of misfits who comprise the tiny United Methodist Church in L'viv will stand in the streets passing out free flowers, toys, and hugs. Which of these two actions is a true protest?

Imagine a world without Empire.