Christ in a Time of Crumbling Empire

Trump float at Italian festival

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, 
beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, 
bearing with one another in love, 
 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit 
in the bond of peace. 
 There is one body and one Spirit, 
just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 
 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:1-6

"Every empire has an expiration date."

Brian Zahnd


Around the turn of the millennium, twenty years ago, the United Church of Canada explored the theme of Empire and its implications. A document called Living Faithfully in the Midst of Empire was presented to the 39th General Council in 2006. There were a number of books written on the theme and I had a couple, until retirement resulted in the scattering of my library. The intro to the report notes that Jesus lived and died in a particular empire and was executed by the Romans, and there are implications for us today.

“Understanding Empire” defines the complex idea of “empire” as a system of global domination. “Empire” is directed by powerful nations, global economic institutions, and transnational corporations. We participate, knowingly and unknowingly, in “empire” primarily through our role as consumers in the global capitalist market system.



Jesus Before Pilate

In some respects this exploration of empire is even more relevant now than when our denomination undertook it. We are watching the implosion of the American empire even as the Emperor Bone Spurs incites crowds to "Make America Great Again." A recent poll found conducted in nearly 40 countries found that neither Trump nor the US are trusted anymore, which doesn't surprise me in the least. 

While white evangelical Christians are steadfast in their support of the president and this distorted notion of empire and world supremacy there are other voices of challenge. One of them is Brian Zahnd whose roots were in evangelicalism but has come to see loyalty to Christ very differently than the disturbing  current "Christian" loyalty to power. In his book Postcards from Babylon he observes that "a church in bed with empire cannot credibly call the empire to repent."

We are living in a time when some nations are worshiping strong-man leaders -- almost always men who "lord it over" their subjects. As Christians we accept "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" and understand that anything else is false religion and idolatry.

Here is the link to the UCC document from 2006. I wonder if anything with this depth will issue from our denomination again in these changing times.

https://commons.united-church.ca/Documents/What%20We%20Believe%20and%20Why/Theology%20and%20Mission%20of%20the%20Church/Living%20Faithfully%20in%20the%20Midst%20of%20Empire.pdf