A New Way

For the last four years, I have found myself constantly at odds with the current administration. While I often find myself in a progressive line of thinking, the thing that bothers me about the President, and his fervent supporters is the rally cry to “Make America Great Again” ( or depending on which sign, sticker, or flag you see, “Keep America Great”). Really? Make this country great again? What point do we measure from? Which moment in history are we trying to get back to? Are we just aiming for a Pre-Obama era? Are we shooting for the ’80s because the music was just so good back then? Surely no one is pointing to a time before all people were legally recognized as whole and complete citizens, regardless of race or gender or land ownership? What do we mean, make America great again? When do we mean? But, what I find even more concerning about this rally cry, is the unconditional support from those who claim to put Jesus the Christ at the head of their lives. What disturbs me, what confuses me, is how a group of people who follow a savior who is “doing a NEW thing” (Is. 43) can jump behind a cry to make something great again, to return to the old.

I was having beers with some friends the other night and we began talking about the language used by churches on being “counter-cultural”, which if we are honest, means the church finds itself in the conservative party of identity politics. One of my friends called this line of thinking out and said the church is was never called to be counter-cultural but culture-creating, and I could not agree more. What would it mean for the church to create a new way for culture, rather than striving to return to a previous time when the country or the church, or whatever it is that we seem to be talking about was “great”.

The ministry of Jesus and the call of the Hebrew prophets before him consistently point the people of God to a new thing, to a new way. While yes, they consistently call people back to the LORD, they do not cal them back to how things were. Even the reforms of King Josiah are filled with him and the priests tearing down old high places and altars, as he ushered in a new age for Israel while calling them back to God. There is a story in the Hebrew Bible where the leaders of Israel seek to call the people back to how things used to be, and it ends in an anti-climactic failure. The combined story of Ezra and Nehemiah shows a people who want to build walls, who want to keep anyone but the Israelites out, and who want to fix their eyes on old glory, the rebuilt temple in all its splendor. They completely miss the mark on what God is calling them to do, and the prophets pre-exile were pretty clear of what God on the throne, living in the midst of the people would look like. They give images and metaphors of the new age to come, the kingdom of God filling the spaces we all already occupy.

For those of us who claim to follow the way of Christ, how, in good faith, can we take up a cry that is returning to an old way? We claim that things are moving towards resurrection, towards new creation. How can we say we want to make anything great again when the vision of new creation is one that is culture creating. If we believe that new creation is one where we will “beat our swords into plowshares” (Is. 2, Joe. 3, Mic. 4), then how can we continue to strive for a time in U.S and global history characterized by so much violence and war? If the new creation is to be a city without walls (Zec. 2), in which all nations are welcomed, why do we seek to build them? Why do we build them around our country, our churches, and our lives? The new way of the Christ is a city with a gate that never shuts, one that is open and welcoming to all. There is no making great again. There is only becoming new.

There is no returning to the old because Christ has declared that we are moving to the new. There is a new way being made in the desert.

A new way to be a neighbor.

To be a parent.

To be a friend.

To be a partner.

To be

You.

There is something new happening, and when we set our sights on returning to how things were, we miss what God is already trying to do. I find myself compelled by the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures that God is well ahead of God’s people. The example set forth in the law for the caring of the orphan, widow, and immigrant. The pursuit of mercy and grace rather than retribution and vengeance. The welcoming of the gentiles into the early church. The Eunuch in the desert. The lame, the blind, the sick, and the broken being made new. The steadfast love of a God rather than the spiteful disgust from a distant deity. Incarnation. Crucifixion. Resurrection. The whole things is becoming new, and as Christians we are invited to participate in bringing that about. That means moving towards the new rather than back towards the old.

I feel like I need to be clear about something else, I have never thought, nor will I ever think that the United States is the new Jerusalem, the new creation. It’s silly to think that we so perfectly exemplify God’s desire for God’s people to be a new creation. We are consistently more like Egypt, like Babylon, like Rome, than we have ever been like the Hebrew people. I feel as thought the Church in the United States has found itself on a ledge. If the Church in the U.S. could begin to create a new culture, rather than demand a return to the old, perhaps we would see a better picture of the Kingdom come. Nor is this short post a critique of the President and his policies. The point of this is simply to ask us to think about the things that we say and put all of our weight behind, and what it means for the image of Christ that we claim to express. No matter who you will vote for, or have already voted for, may the cry of those who are seeking the Kingdom be one of something new, rather than a cry to return to the old. May we remember that the Christ has declared, “Look, I am making all things new.” (Rev. 21). And in this new, may we find ourselves giving and receiving more grace and peace, every single day.