The way of imagination

       Are we the first members of the people of the God of Abraham, revealed in Jesus, to face the challenge of living faithfully in the shadow of empire?   In a word, no.   Justice is a central concern of the Bible and the people of God has always been called to walk a fraught path between submission to and subversion of imperial power. [1]   With very few exceptions [2] , throughout the entire historical period reflected in the pages of Scripture, the people of God consisted of a powerless minority, either under the hegemony of pagan empire or under direct foreign rule/oppression.   The Bible is the subversive literature of a people who refused the identity that the empire of the day would have imposed on them, but rather embraced the identity bestowed upon them by the Creator God who, they believed, was beyond all imperial power structures, whether human or divine. [3]      The challenge for the people of God (in the West...

     Have you ever been to a funeral where those in attendance struggled to find anything positive to say about the deceased?   How awkward that would be!   How embarrassing for the family!   I believe that this situation happens a lot more often than we may think.   What happens at the funeral of a convicted criminal?   Do the family members even show up, or is the shame too great?   What about people – south of the border, let’s say – who receive the death penalty?   Does anyone commemorate their passing or strive to find something redemptive in their life-story, something to hang onto that might relieve some of the pain of those who lost a loved one in such horrifying circumstances?   What if the person had been falsely accused and wrongly convicted, resulting in a death sentence and the accompanying stigma, character-assassination and shame that would, presumably, forever haunt their family?      The rehabi...

     Where’s Jesus?   In 1893, Oscar Wilde wrote a one-act play called Salome .   Here is an excerpt, where the dialogue takes place in the court of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee.   The biblical background for this scene is Lk. 9.1-9 : “Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal… They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news…   Now Herod the ruler heard about all that had taken place, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen. Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see him .”   Salome (1893) HEROD Concerning whom then did he speak? FIRST NAZARENE Concerning Messiah,...

     The comeback.   Easter is the ultimate comeback story.   However, unlike many movies, the Easter story isn’t simply a tale of injustice followed by revenge.   That’s too simple – and doesn’t lead to sustainable peace and justice.   This simplistic storyline – which we observe daily in the news – simply perpetuates an endless cycle of violence (think of Gaza, Ukraine, Kashmir, etc.).   So, how to “comeback” and establish a situation where justice will flourish?   Well, that’s the story that the New Testament is telling, though – I suggest – we aren’t used to reading it in quite that way.   We tend to focus on one of two poles of this complex story – either we fixate on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew’s Gospel), when he said to love our enemies; or, we latch on to the apocalyptic scenes in the book of Revelation, where we are presented with, among many other images, Jesus the cosmic warrior who destroys his enemies with “the swor...