#nonviolence — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #nonviolence, aggregated by home.social.
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenaltyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
https://mastodon.social/@VerdantSquareRadio/116573312635365340
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenaltyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
https://mastodon.social/@VerdantSquareRadio/116573312635365340
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenaltyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
https://mastodon.social/@VerdantSquareRadio/116573312635365340
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenaltyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
https://mastodon.social/@VerdantSquareRadio/116573312635365340
-
NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenaltyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
https://mastodon.social/@VerdantSquareRadio/116573312635365340
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenalty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenalty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
-
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenalty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
-
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenalty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
-
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 5/12/26: Scott Langley on Abolishing the #DeathPenalty
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Lmupuvy0tA
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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The Maranatha Empire
There is a prayer so holy that it should burn the tongue of every empire that tries to speak it.
#anabaptist #antiImperialTheology #breadAndCup #ChristianEthics #ChristianNationalism #ChristianWitness #Church #churchAndEmpire #comeLordJesus #cruciformFaith #Discipleship #domination #Empire #empireCritique #Faithfulness #FootWashing #Humility #Jesus #kingdomOfGod #LambOfGod #Maranatha #MaranathaEmpire #Nonviolence #peaceTheology #Peacemaking #Power #propheticChristianity #PropheticEssay #religiousPower #Revelation #SpiritualReflection #Theology
Maranatha.
Come, Lord.
It is the cry of the small church under pressure. The cry of the persecuted and the patient. The cry of those who have no armies to summon, no throne to defend, no voting bloc sufficient to save them, no market share large enough to secure their future. It is the cry of those who wait because they know they are not God.
But in every age, there are those who take this prayer of waiting and turn it into a banner of possession.
They say, “Come, Lord,” but what they mean is, “Give us control.”
They say, “Thy kingdom come,” but what they mean is, “Let our faction rule.”
They say, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” but what they build are prisons, borders, propaganda machines, religious celebrity platforms, and monuments to their own fear.
This is the Maranatha Empire.
It is not one nation only, though nations may become its servants. It is not one denomination only, though denominations may become its chapels. It is not merely Rome, nor Geneva, nor Washington, nor Moscow, nor any other city that has mistaken power for providence. The Maranatha Empire is the recurring temptation of the religious heart: to stop waiting for Christ and begin replacing him.
It begins quietly.
It begins with concern.
The world is dangerous. The children are vulnerable. The church is shrinking. The enemies are multiplying. The culture is changing. The old certainties are crumbling. The people are afraid.
Fear, when baptized, often calls itself faithfulness.
So the frightened church begins to reach for tools Jesus refused.
A throne.
A sword.
A spectacle.
A scapegoat.
A strongman.
A law that can accomplish what love has not yet persuaded.
A state that can enforce what the Spirit has not yet formed.
A leader who promises to defend Christ, as though Christ ever asked Peter to keep swinging after Gethsemane.
This is how the prayer becomes an empire.
The early church cried, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it knew that Caesar was not Lord. The Maranatha Empire cries, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it wants Caesar to become useful.
The early church broke bread in homes. The Maranatha Empire builds platforms and calls them altars.
The early church welcomed the stranger. The Maranatha Empire sees the stranger as a threat.
The early church died rather than kill. The Maranatha Empire kills and calls the dead collateral damage in the defense of righteousness.
The early church believed the Lamb had conquered. The Maranatha Empire keeps looking for a beast strong enough to protect the Lamb.
And there is the blasphemy.
Not that empire rejects Christ outright. That would be too honest. The Maranatha Empire does something more dangerous. It uses Christ as decoration for a power that is fundamentally afraid of the cross.
It sings of the Lamb while trusting the dragon.
It preaches resurrection while organizing itself around survival.
It displays the cross while despising weakness.
It quotes Jesus while ignoring the people Jesus told us to notice: the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the foreigner, the enemy, the child, the wounded man beside the road.
The Maranatha Empire is not built by atheists. It is built by believers who have lost patience with the way of Jesus.
For the way of Jesus is slow.
It is seed, yeast, salt, light.
It is foot-washing.
It is forgiveness seventy times seven.
It is refusing the shortcut of domination even when domination appears efficient.
It is telling Peter to put away the sword when everything in Peter’s body screams that this is the moment for holy violence.
It is standing before Pilate and saying, “My kingdom is not from this world,” not because the kingdom has nothing to do with the world, but because it does not come by the world’s methods.
The Maranatha Empire cannot tolerate this.
It cannot tolerate a Messiah who will not seize power.
It cannot tolerate a church that would rather be faithful than influential.
It cannot tolerate a people whose politics begin at the basin and towel.
It cannot tolerate enemy-love, because enemy-love ruins the machinery. Empire requires enemies. It needs them. It feeds on them. Without enemies, the crowd might look too closely at the throne.
So, the Maranatha Empire manufactures urgency.
There is no time to love.
No time to listen.
No time to discern.
No time for reconciliation.
No time for peacemaking.
No time to ask whether the means resemble the Christ we claim to serve.
The hour is late, they say. The danger is great. The stakes are too high. We must act now. We must take control now. We must win now.
And somewhere beneath all that urgency is a terrible confession:
They do not actually believe the Lord is coming.
Or, if he is coming, they do not trust him to arrive in the right way.
So they build him an empire to inherit.
But Christ does not inherit empires.
He judges them.
He walks in alleyways, not palaces. He asks whether the churches have kept their first love. He warns those who are rich and comfortable and self-satisfied that they may be poor, blind, and naked. He stands at the door and knocks, not because he has been defeated by secularism, but because religious people have locked him outside while holding meetings in his name.
The Maranatha Empire is always shocked when Jesus is found outside the gate.
Outside the camp.
Outside respectability.
Outside the approved narrative.
Outside the walls with the crucified, the excluded, the unclean, the inconvenient, and the condemned.
The empire expected him in the capital.
But he is with the refugees.
The empire expected him in the cathedral of victory.
But he is with the mother of the disappeared.
The empire expected him on the reviewing stand.
But he is washing feet in the basement.
The empire expected him to bless the troops.
But he is asking why his followers are still carrying swords.
This is why Maranatha must remain a dangerous prayer.
It must never be allowed to become a slogan for conquest. It must never be printed on the banners of those who are unwilling to be converted by the One they summon. To pray “Come, Lord” is not to invite divine endorsement of our projects. It is to invite judgment upon them.
Come, Lord, and judge our churches.
Come, Lord, and judge our flags.
Come, Lord, and judge our markets.
Come, Lord, and judge our weapons.
Come, Lord, and judge our sermons.
Come, Lord, and judge our secret hatreds.
Come, Lord, and judge the ways we have used your name to avoid your way.
This is the prayer empire cannot honestly pray.
Because if the Lord comes, the first thing to fall may not be our enemies.
It may be our idols.
The algorithm.
The nation.
The party.
The brand.
The gun.
The strongman.
The myth of innocence.
The lie that we can harm others for a righteous cause and remain untouched by the harm.
The Maranatha Empire teaches us to fear the collapse of Christian influence.
Jesus teaches us to fear gaining the world and losing our soul.
The Maranatha Empire asks, “How do we take back the culture?”
Jesus asks, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the winners.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the forceful, for they shall secure the future.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
And perhaps this is the word for us now:
The church does not need to become more powerful.
The church needs to become more faithful.
Not passive. Not silent. Not withdrawn into pious irrelevance. But faithful in the particular, cruciform, stubborn way of Jesus. Faithful enough to resist evil without becoming its mirror. Faithful enough to tell the truth without hatred. Faithful enough to protect the vulnerable without worshiping violence. Faithful enough to build communities of economic sharing, hospitality, forgiveness, courage, and joy. Faithful enough to be a people who can live without controlling the outcome.
That is the hard part.
Empire is attractive because it promises control.
Jesus offers communion.
Empire promises security.
Jesus offers peace.
Empire promises victory over enemies.
Jesus offers reconciliation that may begin with our repentance.
Empire promises to make us great.
Jesus invites us to become small enough to enter the kingdom.
So, let the Maranatha Empire fall.
Let it fall first in us.
Let it fall in every place where we have confused anxiety with zeal. Let it fall where we have preferred dominance to witness. Let it fall where we have wanted laws to do what discipleship would not. Let it fall where we have used the suffering of others as fuel for our own righteousness. Let it fall where we have asked Jesus to come only after we have arranged the throne to our liking.
And when it falls, may something older and more beautiful remain.
A table.
A basin.
A towel.
A loaf.
A cup.
A people gathered without illusion, without empire, without the need to be impressive, whispering the ancient prayer not as conquerors but as witnesses:
Maranatha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Come not to crown our domination, but to free us from it.
Come not to baptize our fear, but to cast it out.
Come not to make our empire holy, but to teach us again that your kingdom comes like a seed, like yeast, like mercy, like a Lamb who was slain and yet lives.
And until you come, make us faithful.
Not imperial.
Not triumphant.
Not afraid.
Faithful. -
The Maranatha Empire
There is a prayer so holy that it should burn the tongue of every empire that tries to speak it.
#anabaptist #antiImperialTheology #breadAndCup #ChristianEthics #ChristianNationalism #ChristianWitness #Church #churchAndEmpire #comeLordJesus #cruciformFaith #Discipleship #domination #Empire #empireCritique #Faithfulness #FootWashing #Humility #Jesus #kingdomOfGod #LambOfGod #Maranatha #MaranathaEmpire #Nonviolence #peaceTheology #Peacemaking #Power #propheticChristianity #PropheticEssay #religiousPower #Revelation #SpiritualReflection #Theology
Maranatha.
Come, Lord.
It is the cry of the small church under pressure. The cry of the persecuted and the patient. The cry of those who have no armies to summon, no throne to defend, no voting bloc sufficient to save them, no market share large enough to secure their future. It is the cry of those who wait because they know they are not God.
But in every age, there are those who take this prayer of waiting and turn it into a banner of possession.
They say, “Come, Lord,” but what they mean is, “Give us control.”
They say, “Thy kingdom come,” but what they mean is, “Let our faction rule.”
They say, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” but what they build are prisons, borders, propaganda machines, religious celebrity platforms, and monuments to their own fear.
This is the Maranatha Empire.
It is not one nation only, though nations may become its servants. It is not one denomination only, though denominations may become its chapels. It is not merely Rome, nor Geneva, nor Washington, nor Moscow, nor any other city that has mistaken power for providence. The Maranatha Empire is the recurring temptation of the religious heart: to stop waiting for Christ and begin replacing him.
It begins quietly.
It begins with concern.
The world is dangerous. The children are vulnerable. The church is shrinking. The enemies are multiplying. The culture is changing. The old certainties are crumbling. The people are afraid.
Fear, when baptized, often calls itself faithfulness.
So the frightened church begins to reach for tools Jesus refused.
A throne.
A sword.
A spectacle.
A scapegoat.
A strongman.
A law that can accomplish what love has not yet persuaded.
A state that can enforce what the Spirit has not yet formed.
A leader who promises to defend Christ, as though Christ ever asked Peter to keep swinging after Gethsemane.
This is how the prayer becomes an empire.
The early church cried, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it knew that Caesar was not Lord. The Maranatha Empire cries, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it wants Caesar to become useful.
The early church broke bread in homes. The Maranatha Empire builds platforms and calls them altars.
The early church welcomed the stranger. The Maranatha Empire sees the stranger as a threat.
The early church died rather than kill. The Maranatha Empire kills and calls the dead collateral damage in the defense of righteousness.
The early church believed the Lamb had conquered. The Maranatha Empire keeps looking for a beast strong enough to protect the Lamb.
And there is the blasphemy.
Not that empire rejects Christ outright. That would be too honest. The Maranatha Empire does something more dangerous. It uses Christ as decoration for a power that is fundamentally afraid of the cross.
It sings of the Lamb while trusting the dragon.
It preaches resurrection while organizing itself around survival.
It displays the cross while despising weakness.
It quotes Jesus while ignoring the people Jesus told us to notice: the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the foreigner, the enemy, the child, the wounded man beside the road.
The Maranatha Empire is not built by atheists. It is built by believers who have lost patience with the way of Jesus.
For the way of Jesus is slow.
It is seed, yeast, salt, light.
It is foot-washing.
It is forgiveness seventy times seven.
It is refusing the shortcut of domination even when domination appears efficient.
It is telling Peter to put away the sword when everything in Peter’s body screams that this is the moment for holy violence.
It is standing before Pilate and saying, “My kingdom is not from this world,” not because the kingdom has nothing to do with the world, but because it does not come by the world’s methods.
The Maranatha Empire cannot tolerate this.
It cannot tolerate a Messiah who will not seize power.
It cannot tolerate a church that would rather be faithful than influential.
It cannot tolerate a people whose politics begin at the basin and towel.
It cannot tolerate enemy-love, because enemy-love ruins the machinery. Empire requires enemies. It needs them. It feeds on them. Without enemies, the crowd might look too closely at the throne.
So, the Maranatha Empire manufactures urgency.
There is no time to love.
No time to listen.
No time to discern.
No time for reconciliation.
No time for peacemaking.
No time to ask whether the means resemble the Christ we claim to serve.
The hour is late, they say. The danger is great. The stakes are too high. We must act now. We must take control now. We must win now.
And somewhere beneath all that urgency is a terrible confession:
They do not actually believe the Lord is coming.
Or, if he is coming, they do not trust him to arrive in the right way.
So they build him an empire to inherit.
But Christ does not inherit empires.
He judges them.
He walks in alleyways, not palaces. He asks whether the churches have kept their first love. He warns those who are rich and comfortable and self-satisfied that they may be poor, blind, and naked. He stands at the door and knocks, not because he has been defeated by secularism, but because religious people have locked him outside while holding meetings in his name.
The Maranatha Empire is always shocked when Jesus is found outside the gate.
Outside the camp.
Outside respectability.
Outside the approved narrative.
Outside the walls with the crucified, the excluded, the unclean, the inconvenient, and the condemned.
The empire expected him in the capital.
But he is with the refugees.
The empire expected him in the cathedral of victory.
But he is with the mother of the disappeared.
The empire expected him on the reviewing stand.
But he is washing feet in the basement.
The empire expected him to bless the troops.
But he is asking why his followers are still carrying swords.
This is why Maranatha must remain a dangerous prayer.
It must never be allowed to become a slogan for conquest. It must never be printed on the banners of those who are unwilling to be converted by the One they summon. To pray “Come, Lord” is not to invite divine endorsement of our projects. It is to invite judgment upon them.
Come, Lord, and judge our churches.
Come, Lord, and judge our flags.
Come, Lord, and judge our markets.
Come, Lord, and judge our weapons.
Come, Lord, and judge our sermons.
Come, Lord, and judge our secret hatreds.
Come, Lord, and judge the ways we have used your name to avoid your way.
This is the prayer empire cannot honestly pray.
Because if the Lord comes, the first thing to fall may not be our enemies.
It may be our idols.
The algorithm.
The nation.
The party.
The brand.
The gun.
The strongman.
The myth of innocence.
The lie that we can harm others for a righteous cause and remain untouched by the harm.
The Maranatha Empire teaches us to fear the collapse of Christian influence.
Jesus teaches us to fear gaining the world and losing our soul.
The Maranatha Empire asks, “How do we take back the culture?”
Jesus asks, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the winners.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the forceful, for they shall secure the future.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
And perhaps this is the word for us now:
The church does not need to become more powerful.
The church needs to become more faithful.
Not passive. Not silent. Not withdrawn into pious irrelevance. But faithful in the particular, cruciform, stubborn way of Jesus. Faithful enough to resist evil without becoming its mirror. Faithful enough to tell the truth without hatred. Faithful enough to protect the vulnerable without worshiping violence. Faithful enough to build communities of economic sharing, hospitality, forgiveness, courage, and joy. Faithful enough to be a people who can live without controlling the outcome.
That is the hard part.
Empire is attractive because it promises control.
Jesus offers communion.
Empire promises security.
Jesus offers peace.
Empire promises victory over enemies.
Jesus offers reconciliation that may begin with our repentance.
Empire promises to make us great.
Jesus invites us to become small enough to enter the kingdom.
So, let the Maranatha Empire fall.
Let it fall first in us.
Let it fall in every place where we have confused anxiety with zeal. Let it fall where we have preferred dominance to witness. Let it fall where we have wanted laws to do what discipleship would not. Let it fall where we have used the suffering of others as fuel for our own righteousness. Let it fall where we have asked Jesus to come only after we have arranged the throne to our liking.
And when it falls, may something older and more beautiful remain.
A table.
A basin.
A towel.
A loaf.
A cup.
A people gathered without illusion, without empire, without the need to be impressive, whispering the ancient prayer not as conquerors but as witnesses:
Maranatha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Come not to crown our domination, but to free us from it.
Come not to baptize our fear, but to cast it out.
Come not to make our empire holy, but to teach us again that your kingdom comes like a seed, like yeast, like mercy, like a Lamb who was slain and yet lives.
And until you come, make us faithful.
Not imperial.
Not triumphant.
Not afraid.
Faithful. -
The Maranatha Empire
There is a prayer so holy that it should burn the tongue of every empire that tries to speak it.
#anabaptist #antiImperialTheology #breadAndCup #ChristianEthics #ChristianNationalism #ChristianWitness #Church #churchAndEmpire #comeLordJesus #cruciformFaith #Discipleship #domination #Empire #empireCritique #Faithfulness #FootWashing #Humility #Jesus #kingdomOfGod #LambOfGod #Maranatha #MaranathaEmpire #Nonviolence #peaceTheology #Peacemaking #Power #propheticChristianity #PropheticEssay #religiousPower #Revelation #SpiritualReflection #Theology
Maranatha.
Come, Lord.
It is the cry of the small church under pressure. The cry of the persecuted and the patient. The cry of those who have no armies to summon, no throne to defend, no voting bloc sufficient to save them, no market share large enough to secure their future. It is the cry of those who wait because they know they are not God.
But in every age, there are those who take this prayer of waiting and turn it into a banner of possession.
They say, “Come, Lord,” but what they mean is, “Give us control.”
They say, “Thy kingdom come,” but what they mean is, “Let our faction rule.”
They say, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” but what they build are prisons, borders, propaganda machines, religious celebrity platforms, and monuments to their own fear.
This is the Maranatha Empire.
It is not one nation only, though nations may become its servants. It is not one denomination only, though denominations may become its chapels. It is not merely Rome, nor Geneva, nor Washington, nor Moscow, nor any other city that has mistaken power for providence. The Maranatha Empire is the recurring temptation of the religious heart: to stop waiting for Christ and begin replacing him.
It begins quietly.
It begins with concern.
The world is dangerous. The children are vulnerable. The church is shrinking. The enemies are multiplying. The culture is changing. The old certainties are crumbling. The people are afraid.
Fear, when baptized, often calls itself faithfulness.
So the frightened church begins to reach for tools Jesus refused.
A throne.
A sword.
A spectacle.
A scapegoat.
A strongman.
A law that can accomplish what love has not yet persuaded.
A state that can enforce what the Spirit has not yet formed.
A leader who promises to defend Christ, as though Christ ever asked Peter to keep swinging after Gethsemane.
This is how the prayer becomes an empire.
The early church cried, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it knew that Caesar was not Lord. The Maranatha Empire cries, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it wants Caesar to become useful.
The early church broke bread in homes. The Maranatha Empire builds platforms and calls them altars.
The early church welcomed the stranger. The Maranatha Empire sees the stranger as a threat.
The early church died rather than kill. The Maranatha Empire kills and calls the dead collateral damage in the defense of righteousness.
The early church believed the Lamb had conquered. The Maranatha Empire keeps looking for a beast strong enough to protect the Lamb.
And there is the blasphemy.
Not that empire rejects Christ outright. That would be too honest. The Maranatha Empire does something more dangerous. It uses Christ as decoration for a power that is fundamentally afraid of the cross.
It sings of the Lamb while trusting the dragon.
It preaches resurrection while organizing itself around survival.
It displays the cross while despising weakness.
It quotes Jesus while ignoring the people Jesus told us to notice: the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the foreigner, the enemy, the child, the wounded man beside the road.
The Maranatha Empire is not built by atheists. It is built by believers who have lost patience with the way of Jesus.
For the way of Jesus is slow.
It is seed, yeast, salt, light.
It is foot-washing.
It is forgiveness seventy times seven.
It is refusing the shortcut of domination even when domination appears efficient.
It is telling Peter to put away the sword when everything in Peter’s body screams that this is the moment for holy violence.
It is standing before Pilate and saying, “My kingdom is not from this world,” not because the kingdom has nothing to do with the world, but because it does not come by the world’s methods.
The Maranatha Empire cannot tolerate this.
It cannot tolerate a Messiah who will not seize power.
It cannot tolerate a church that would rather be faithful than influential.
It cannot tolerate a people whose politics begin at the basin and towel.
It cannot tolerate enemy-love, because enemy-love ruins the machinery. Empire requires enemies. It needs them. It feeds on them. Without enemies, the crowd might look too closely at the throne.
So, the Maranatha Empire manufactures urgency.
There is no time to love.
No time to listen.
No time to discern.
No time for reconciliation.
No time for peacemaking.
No time to ask whether the means resemble the Christ we claim to serve.
The hour is late, they say. The danger is great. The stakes are too high. We must act now. We must take control now. We must win now.
And somewhere beneath all that urgency is a terrible confession:
They do not actually believe the Lord is coming.
Or, if he is coming, they do not trust him to arrive in the right way.
So they build him an empire to inherit.
But Christ does not inherit empires.
He judges them.
He walks in alleyways, not palaces. He asks whether the churches have kept their first love. He warns those who are rich and comfortable and self-satisfied that they may be poor, blind, and naked. He stands at the door and knocks, not because he has been defeated by secularism, but because religious people have locked him outside while holding meetings in his name.
The Maranatha Empire is always shocked when Jesus is found outside the gate.
Outside the camp.
Outside respectability.
Outside the approved narrative.
Outside the walls with the crucified, the excluded, the unclean, the inconvenient, and the condemned.
The empire expected him in the capital.
But he is with the refugees.
The empire expected him in the cathedral of victory.
But he is with the mother of the disappeared.
The empire expected him on the reviewing stand.
But he is washing feet in the basement.
The empire expected him to bless the troops.
But he is asking why his followers are still carrying swords.
This is why Maranatha must remain a dangerous prayer.
It must never be allowed to become a slogan for conquest. It must never be printed on the banners of those who are unwilling to be converted by the One they summon. To pray “Come, Lord” is not to invite divine endorsement of our projects. It is to invite judgment upon them.
Come, Lord, and judge our churches.
Come, Lord, and judge our flags.
Come, Lord, and judge our markets.
Come, Lord, and judge our weapons.
Come, Lord, and judge our sermons.
Come, Lord, and judge our secret hatreds.
Come, Lord, and judge the ways we have used your name to avoid your way.
This is the prayer empire cannot honestly pray.
Because if the Lord comes, the first thing to fall may not be our enemies.
It may be our idols.
The algorithm.
The nation.
The party.
The brand.
The gun.
The strongman.
The myth of innocence.
The lie that we can harm others for a righteous cause and remain untouched by the harm.
The Maranatha Empire teaches us to fear the collapse of Christian influence.
Jesus teaches us to fear gaining the world and losing our soul.
The Maranatha Empire asks, “How do we take back the culture?”
Jesus asks, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the winners.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the forceful, for they shall secure the future.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
And perhaps this is the word for us now:
The church does not need to become more powerful.
The church needs to become more faithful.
Not passive. Not silent. Not withdrawn into pious irrelevance. But faithful in the particular, cruciform, stubborn way of Jesus. Faithful enough to resist evil without becoming its mirror. Faithful enough to tell the truth without hatred. Faithful enough to protect the vulnerable without worshiping violence. Faithful enough to build communities of economic sharing, hospitality, forgiveness, courage, and joy. Faithful enough to be a people who can live without controlling the outcome.
That is the hard part.
Empire is attractive because it promises control.
Jesus offers communion.
Empire promises security.
Jesus offers peace.
Empire promises victory over enemies.
Jesus offers reconciliation that may begin with our repentance.
Empire promises to make us great.
Jesus invites us to become small enough to enter the kingdom.
So, let the Maranatha Empire fall.
Let it fall first in us.
Let it fall in every place where we have confused anxiety with zeal. Let it fall where we have preferred dominance to witness. Let it fall where we have wanted laws to do what discipleship would not. Let it fall where we have used the suffering of others as fuel for our own righteousness. Let it fall where we have asked Jesus to come only after we have arranged the throne to our liking.
And when it falls, may something older and more beautiful remain.
A table.
A basin.
A towel.
A loaf.
A cup.
A people gathered without illusion, without empire, without the need to be impressive, whispering the ancient prayer not as conquerors but as witnesses:
Maranatha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Come not to crown our domination, but to free us from it.
Come not to baptize our fear, but to cast it out.
Come not to make our empire holy, but to teach us again that your kingdom comes like a seed, like yeast, like mercy, like a Lamb who was slain and yet lives.
And until you come, make us faithful.
Not imperial.
Not triumphant.
Not afraid.
Faithful. -
The Maranatha Empire
There is a prayer so holy that it should burn the tongue of every empire that tries to speak it.
#anabaptist #antiImperialTheology #breadAndCup #ChristianEthics #ChristianNationalism #ChristianWitness #Church #churchAndEmpire #comeLordJesus #cruciformFaith #Discipleship #domination #Empire #empireCritique #Faithfulness #FootWashing #Humility #Jesus #kingdomOfGod #LambOfGod #Maranatha #MaranathaEmpire #Nonviolence #peaceTheology #Peacemaking #Power #propheticChristianity #PropheticEssay #religiousPower #Revelation #SpiritualReflection #Theology
Maranatha.
Come, Lord.
It is the cry of the small church under pressure. The cry of the persecuted and the patient. The cry of those who have no armies to summon, no throne to defend, no voting bloc sufficient to save them, no market share large enough to secure their future. It is the cry of those who wait because they know they are not God.
But in every age, there are those who take this prayer of waiting and turn it into a banner of possession.
They say, “Come, Lord,” but what they mean is, “Give us control.”
They say, “Thy kingdom come,” but what they mean is, “Let our faction rule.”
They say, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” but what they build are prisons, borders, propaganda machines, religious celebrity platforms, and monuments to their own fear.
This is the Maranatha Empire.
It is not one nation only, though nations may become its servants. It is not one denomination only, though denominations may become its chapels. It is not merely Rome, nor Geneva, nor Washington, nor Moscow, nor any other city that has mistaken power for providence. The Maranatha Empire is the recurring temptation of the religious heart: to stop waiting for Christ and begin replacing him.
It begins quietly.
It begins with concern.
The world is dangerous. The children are vulnerable. The church is shrinking. The enemies are multiplying. The culture is changing. The old certainties are crumbling. The people are afraid.
Fear, when baptized, often calls itself faithfulness.
So the frightened church begins to reach for tools Jesus refused.
A throne.
A sword.
A spectacle.
A scapegoat.
A strongman.
A law that can accomplish what love has not yet persuaded.
A state that can enforce what the Spirit has not yet formed.
A leader who promises to defend Christ, as though Christ ever asked Peter to keep swinging after Gethsemane.
This is how the prayer becomes an empire.
The early church cried, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it knew that Caesar was not Lord. The Maranatha Empire cries, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it wants Caesar to become useful.
The early church broke bread in homes. The Maranatha Empire builds platforms and calls them altars.
The early church welcomed the stranger. The Maranatha Empire sees the stranger as a threat.
The early church died rather than kill. The Maranatha Empire kills and calls the dead collateral damage in the defense of righteousness.
The early church believed the Lamb had conquered. The Maranatha Empire keeps looking for a beast strong enough to protect the Lamb.
And there is the blasphemy.
Not that empire rejects Christ outright. That would be too honest. The Maranatha Empire does something more dangerous. It uses Christ as decoration for a power that is fundamentally afraid of the cross.
It sings of the Lamb while trusting the dragon.
It preaches resurrection while organizing itself around survival.
It displays the cross while despising weakness.
It quotes Jesus while ignoring the people Jesus told us to notice: the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the foreigner, the enemy, the child, the wounded man beside the road.
The Maranatha Empire is not built by atheists. It is built by believers who have lost patience with the way of Jesus.
For the way of Jesus is slow.
It is seed, yeast, salt, light.
It is foot-washing.
It is forgiveness seventy times seven.
It is refusing the shortcut of domination even when domination appears efficient.
It is telling Peter to put away the sword when everything in Peter’s body screams that this is the moment for holy violence.
It is standing before Pilate and saying, “My kingdom is not from this world,” not because the kingdom has nothing to do with the world, but because it does not come by the world’s methods.
The Maranatha Empire cannot tolerate this.
It cannot tolerate a Messiah who will not seize power.
It cannot tolerate a church that would rather be faithful than influential.
It cannot tolerate a people whose politics begin at the basin and towel.
It cannot tolerate enemy-love, because enemy-love ruins the machinery. Empire requires enemies. It needs them. It feeds on them. Without enemies, the crowd might look too closely at the throne.
So, the Maranatha Empire manufactures urgency.
There is no time to love.
No time to listen.
No time to discern.
No time for reconciliation.
No time for peacemaking.
No time to ask whether the means resemble the Christ we claim to serve.
The hour is late, they say. The danger is great. The stakes are too high. We must act now. We must take control now. We must win now.
And somewhere beneath all that urgency is a terrible confession:
They do not actually believe the Lord is coming.
Or, if he is coming, they do not trust him to arrive in the right way.
So they build him an empire to inherit.
But Christ does not inherit empires.
He judges them.
He walks in alleyways, not palaces. He asks whether the churches have kept their first love. He warns those who are rich and comfortable and self-satisfied that they may be poor, blind, and naked. He stands at the door and knocks, not because he has been defeated by secularism, but because religious people have locked him outside while holding meetings in his name.
The Maranatha Empire is always shocked when Jesus is found outside the gate.
Outside the camp.
Outside respectability.
Outside the approved narrative.
Outside the walls with the crucified, the excluded, the unclean, the inconvenient, and the condemned.
The empire expected him in the capital.
But he is with the refugees.
The empire expected him in the cathedral of victory.
But he is with the mother of the disappeared.
The empire expected him on the reviewing stand.
But he is washing feet in the basement.
The empire expected him to bless the troops.
But he is asking why his followers are still carrying swords.
This is why Maranatha must remain a dangerous prayer.
It must never be allowed to become a slogan for conquest. It must never be printed on the banners of those who are unwilling to be converted by the One they summon. To pray “Come, Lord” is not to invite divine endorsement of our projects. It is to invite judgment upon them.
Come, Lord, and judge our churches.
Come, Lord, and judge our flags.
Come, Lord, and judge our markets.
Come, Lord, and judge our weapons.
Come, Lord, and judge our sermons.
Come, Lord, and judge our secret hatreds.
Come, Lord, and judge the ways we have used your name to avoid your way.
This is the prayer empire cannot honestly pray.
Because if the Lord comes, the first thing to fall may not be our enemies.
It may be our idols.
The algorithm.
The nation.
The party.
The brand.
The gun.
The strongman.
The myth of innocence.
The lie that we can harm others for a righteous cause and remain untouched by the harm.
The Maranatha Empire teaches us to fear the collapse of Christian influence.
Jesus teaches us to fear gaining the world and losing our soul.
The Maranatha Empire asks, “How do we take back the culture?”
Jesus asks, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the winners.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the forceful, for they shall secure the future.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
And perhaps this is the word for us now:
The church does not need to become more powerful.
The church needs to become more faithful.
Not passive. Not silent. Not withdrawn into pious irrelevance. But faithful in the particular, cruciform, stubborn way of Jesus. Faithful enough to resist evil without becoming its mirror. Faithful enough to tell the truth without hatred. Faithful enough to protect the vulnerable without worshiping violence. Faithful enough to build communities of economic sharing, hospitality, forgiveness, courage, and joy. Faithful enough to be a people who can live without controlling the outcome.
That is the hard part.
Empire is attractive because it promises control.
Jesus offers communion.
Empire promises security.
Jesus offers peace.
Empire promises victory over enemies.
Jesus offers reconciliation that may begin with our repentance.
Empire promises to make us great.
Jesus invites us to become small enough to enter the kingdom.
So, let the Maranatha Empire fall.
Let it fall first in us.
Let it fall in every place where we have confused anxiety with zeal. Let it fall where we have preferred dominance to witness. Let it fall where we have wanted laws to do what discipleship would not. Let it fall where we have used the suffering of others as fuel for our own righteousness. Let it fall where we have asked Jesus to come only after we have arranged the throne to our liking.
And when it falls, may something older and more beautiful remain.
A table.
A basin.
A towel.
A loaf.
A cup.
A people gathered without illusion, without empire, without the need to be impressive, whispering the ancient prayer not as conquerors but as witnesses:
Maranatha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Come not to crown our domination, but to free us from it.
Come not to baptize our fear, but to cast it out.
Come not to make our empire holy, but to teach us again that your kingdom comes like a seed, like yeast, like mercy, like a Lamb who was slain and yet lives.
And until you come, make us faithful.
Not imperial.
Not triumphant.
Not afraid.
Faithful. -
The Maranatha Empire
There is a prayer so holy that it should burn the tongue of every empire that tries to speak it.
#anabaptist #antiImperialTheology #breadAndCup #ChristianEthics #ChristianNationalism #ChristianWitness #Church #churchAndEmpire #comeLordJesus #cruciformFaith #Discipleship #domination #Empire #empireCritique #Faithfulness #FootWashing #Humility #Jesus #kingdomOfGod #LambOfGod #Maranatha #MaranathaEmpire #Nonviolence #peaceTheology #Peacemaking #Power #propheticChristianity #PropheticEssay #religiousPower #Revelation #SpiritualReflection #Theology
Maranatha.
Come, Lord.
It is the cry of the small church under pressure. The cry of the persecuted and the patient. The cry of those who have no armies to summon, no throne to defend, no voting bloc sufficient to save them, no market share large enough to secure their future. It is the cry of those who wait because they know they are not God.
But in every age, there are those who take this prayer of waiting and turn it into a banner of possession.
They say, “Come, Lord,” but what they mean is, “Give us control.”
They say, “Thy kingdom come,” but what they mean is, “Let our faction rule.”
They say, “Prepare the way of the Lord,” but what they build are prisons, borders, propaganda machines, religious celebrity platforms, and monuments to their own fear.
This is the Maranatha Empire.
It is not one nation only, though nations may become its servants. It is not one denomination only, though denominations may become its chapels. It is not merely Rome, nor Geneva, nor Washington, nor Moscow, nor any other city that has mistaken power for providence. The Maranatha Empire is the recurring temptation of the religious heart: to stop waiting for Christ and begin replacing him.
It begins quietly.
It begins with concern.
The world is dangerous. The children are vulnerable. The church is shrinking. The enemies are multiplying. The culture is changing. The old certainties are crumbling. The people are afraid.
Fear, when baptized, often calls itself faithfulness.
So the frightened church begins to reach for tools Jesus refused.
A throne.
A sword.
A spectacle.
A scapegoat.
A strongman.
A law that can accomplish what love has not yet persuaded.
A state that can enforce what the Spirit has not yet formed.
A leader who promises to defend Christ, as though Christ ever asked Peter to keep swinging after Gethsemane.
This is how the prayer becomes an empire.
The early church cried, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it knew that Caesar was not Lord. The Maranatha Empire cries, “Come, Lord Jesus,” because it wants Caesar to become useful.
The early church broke bread in homes. The Maranatha Empire builds platforms and calls them altars.
The early church welcomed the stranger. The Maranatha Empire sees the stranger as a threat.
The early church died rather than kill. The Maranatha Empire kills and calls the dead collateral damage in the defense of righteousness.
The early church believed the Lamb had conquered. The Maranatha Empire keeps looking for a beast strong enough to protect the Lamb.
And there is the blasphemy.
Not that empire rejects Christ outright. That would be too honest. The Maranatha Empire does something more dangerous. It uses Christ as decoration for a power that is fundamentally afraid of the cross.
It sings of the Lamb while trusting the dragon.
It preaches resurrection while organizing itself around survival.
It displays the cross while despising weakness.
It quotes Jesus while ignoring the people Jesus told us to notice: the poor, the imprisoned, the hungry, the foreigner, the enemy, the child, the wounded man beside the road.
The Maranatha Empire is not built by atheists. It is built by believers who have lost patience with the way of Jesus.
For the way of Jesus is slow.
It is seed, yeast, salt, light.
It is foot-washing.
It is forgiveness seventy times seven.
It is refusing the shortcut of domination even when domination appears efficient.
It is telling Peter to put away the sword when everything in Peter’s body screams that this is the moment for holy violence.
It is standing before Pilate and saying, “My kingdom is not from this world,” not because the kingdom has nothing to do with the world, but because it does not come by the world’s methods.
The Maranatha Empire cannot tolerate this.
It cannot tolerate a Messiah who will not seize power.
It cannot tolerate a church that would rather be faithful than influential.
It cannot tolerate a people whose politics begin at the basin and towel.
It cannot tolerate enemy-love, because enemy-love ruins the machinery. Empire requires enemies. It needs them. It feeds on them. Without enemies, the crowd might look too closely at the throne.
So, the Maranatha Empire manufactures urgency.
There is no time to love.
No time to listen.
No time to discern.
No time for reconciliation.
No time for peacemaking.
No time to ask whether the means resemble the Christ we claim to serve.
The hour is late, they say. The danger is great. The stakes are too high. We must act now. We must take control now. We must win now.
And somewhere beneath all that urgency is a terrible confession:
They do not actually believe the Lord is coming.
Or, if he is coming, they do not trust him to arrive in the right way.
So they build him an empire to inherit.
But Christ does not inherit empires.
He judges them.
He walks in alleyways, not palaces. He asks whether the churches have kept their first love. He warns those who are rich and comfortable and self-satisfied that they may be poor, blind, and naked. He stands at the door and knocks, not because he has been defeated by secularism, but because religious people have locked him outside while holding meetings in his name.
The Maranatha Empire is always shocked when Jesus is found outside the gate.
Outside the camp.
Outside respectability.
Outside the approved narrative.
Outside the walls with the crucified, the excluded, the unclean, the inconvenient, and the condemned.
The empire expected him in the capital.
But he is with the refugees.
The empire expected him in the cathedral of victory.
But he is with the mother of the disappeared.
The empire expected him on the reviewing stand.
But he is washing feet in the basement.
The empire expected him to bless the troops.
But he is asking why his followers are still carrying swords.
This is why Maranatha must remain a dangerous prayer.
It must never be allowed to become a slogan for conquest. It must never be printed on the banners of those who are unwilling to be converted by the One they summon. To pray “Come, Lord” is not to invite divine endorsement of our projects. It is to invite judgment upon them.
Come, Lord, and judge our churches.
Come, Lord, and judge our flags.
Come, Lord, and judge our markets.
Come, Lord, and judge our weapons.
Come, Lord, and judge our sermons.
Come, Lord, and judge our secret hatreds.
Come, Lord, and judge the ways we have used your name to avoid your way.
This is the prayer empire cannot honestly pray.
Because if the Lord comes, the first thing to fall may not be our enemies.
It may be our idols.
The algorithm.
The nation.
The party.
The brand.
The gun.
The strongman.
The myth of innocence.
The lie that we can harm others for a righteous cause and remain untouched by the harm.
The Maranatha Empire teaches us to fear the collapse of Christian influence.
Jesus teaches us to fear gaining the world and losing our soul.
The Maranatha Empire asks, “How do we take back the culture?”
Jesus asks, “Can you drink the cup that I drink?”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the winners.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek.”
The Maranatha Empire says, “Blessed are the forceful, for they shall secure the future.”
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
And perhaps this is the word for us now:
The church does not need to become more powerful.
The church needs to become more faithful.
Not passive. Not silent. Not withdrawn into pious irrelevance. But faithful in the particular, cruciform, stubborn way of Jesus. Faithful enough to resist evil without becoming its mirror. Faithful enough to tell the truth without hatred. Faithful enough to protect the vulnerable without worshiping violence. Faithful enough to build communities of economic sharing, hospitality, forgiveness, courage, and joy. Faithful enough to be a people who can live without controlling the outcome.
That is the hard part.
Empire is attractive because it promises control.
Jesus offers communion.
Empire promises security.
Jesus offers peace.
Empire promises victory over enemies.
Jesus offers reconciliation that may begin with our repentance.
Empire promises to make us great.
Jesus invites us to become small enough to enter the kingdom.
So, let the Maranatha Empire fall.
Let it fall first in us.
Let it fall in every place where we have confused anxiety with zeal. Let it fall where we have preferred dominance to witness. Let it fall where we have wanted laws to do what discipleship would not. Let it fall where we have used the suffering of others as fuel for our own righteousness. Let it fall where we have asked Jesus to come only after we have arranged the throne to our liking.
And when it falls, may something older and more beautiful remain.
A table.
A basin.
A towel.
A loaf.
A cup.
A people gathered without illusion, without empire, without the need to be impressive, whispering the ancient prayer not as conquerors but as witnesses:
Maranatha.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Come not to crown our domination, but to free us from it.
Come not to baptize our fear, but to cast it out.
Come not to make our empire holy, but to teach us again that your kingdom comes like a seed, like yeast, like mercy, like a Lamb who was slain and yet lives.
And until you come, make us faithful.
Not imperial.
Not triumphant.
Not afraid.
Faithful. -
Resistance, Remembrance, and Comunidad: Cinco de Mayo, Mount Pleasant, and the Rebuilding That Erases
Cinco de Mayo is often misunderstood in the United States. It is reduced to a marketing holiday, a day of beer specials, paper flags, mariachi clichés, and the shallow consumption of Mexican culture without the burden of remembering Mexican history. But the heart of Cinco de Mayo is not consumption. It is resistance.
The day remembers the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated the French army, then one of the most powerful military forces in the world. It was not Mexican Independence Day. It was not the founding of Mexico. It was a day when a people under pressure from empire stood their ground. It was a day when the powerful were resisted by those who were supposed to lose. It was, at its deepest level, a day about memory, dignity, land, sovereignty, and the refusal to be swallowed by imperial appetite. (MySA)
That is why, for me, Cinco de Mayo cannot be separated from another May 5: May 5, 1991, in Washington, D.C.
I was there.
Read the rest of the essay at PeaceGrooves.com.
#AnabaptistPeaceWitness #BattleOfPuebla #CentralAmerica #CincoDeMayo #ColumbiaHeights #Comunidad #Displacement #EconomicRebuilding #Empire #Gentrification #immigrantJustice #Immigration #LatinAmericanYouthCenter #LatinoCommunity #LatinoHistory #MountPleasantRiots #Nonviolence #PeaceAndJustice #PoliceViolence #PropheticEssay #Puebla #remembrance #Resistance #sanctuary #SocialJustice #solidarity #TearGas #UrbanDevelopment #USForeignPolicy #WashingtonDC -
Resistance, Remembrance, and Comunidad: Cinco de Mayo, Mount Pleasant, and the Rebuilding That Erases
Cinco de Mayo is often misunderstood in the United States. It is reduced to a marketing holiday, a day of beer specials, paper flags, mariachi clichés, and the shallow consumption of Mexican culture without the burden of remembering Mexican history. But the heart of Cinco de Mayo is not consumption. It is resistance.
The day remembers the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated the French army, then one of the most powerful military forces in the world. It was not Mexican Independence Day. It was not the founding of Mexico. It was a day when a people under pressure from empire stood their ground. It was a day when the powerful were resisted by those who were supposed to lose. It was, at its deepest level, a day about memory, dignity, land, sovereignty, and the refusal to be swallowed by imperial appetite. (MySA)
That is why, for me, Cinco de Mayo cannot be separated from another May 5: May 5, 1991, in Washington, D.C.
I was there.
Read the rest of the essay at PeaceGrooves.com.
#AnabaptistPeaceWitness #BattleOfPuebla #CentralAmerica #CincoDeMayo #ColumbiaHeights #Comunidad #Displacement #EconomicRebuilding #Empire #Gentrification #immigrantJustice #Immigration #LatinAmericanYouthCenter #LatinoCommunity #LatinoHistory #MountPleasantRiots #Nonviolence #PeaceAndJustice #PoliceViolence #PropheticEssay #Puebla #remembrance #Resistance #sanctuary #SocialJustice #solidarity #TearGas #UrbanDevelopment #USForeignPolicy #WashingtonDC -
Resistance, Remembrance, and Comunidad: Cinco de Mayo, Mount Pleasant, and the Rebuilding That Erases
Cinco de Mayo is often misunderstood in the United States. It is reduced to a marketing holiday, a day of beer specials, paper flags, mariachi clichés, and the shallow consumption of Mexican culture without the burden of remembering Mexican history. But the heart of Cinco de Mayo is not consumption. It is resistance.
The day remembers the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated the French army, then one of the most powerful military forces in the world. It was not Mexican Independence Day. It was not the founding of Mexico. It was a day when a people under pressure from empire stood their ground. It was a day when the powerful were resisted by those who were supposed to lose. It was, at its deepest level, a day about memory, dignity, land, sovereignty, and the refusal to be swallowed by imperial appetite. (MySA)
That is why, for me, Cinco de Mayo cannot be separated from another May 5: May 5, 1991, in Washington, D.C.
I was there.
Read the rest of the essay at PeaceGrooves.com.
#AnabaptistPeaceWitness #BattleOfPuebla #CentralAmerica #CincoDeMayo #ColumbiaHeights #Comunidad #Displacement #EconomicRebuilding #Empire #Gentrification #immigrantJustice #Immigration #LatinAmericanYouthCenter #LatinoCommunity #LatinoHistory #MountPleasantRiots #Nonviolence #PeaceAndJustice #PoliceViolence #PropheticEssay #Puebla #remembrance #Resistance #sanctuary #SocialJustice #solidarity #TearGas #UrbanDevelopment #USForeignPolicy #WashingtonDC -
Resistance, Remembrance, and Comunidad: Cinco de Mayo, Mount Pleasant, and the Rebuilding That Erases
Cinco de Mayo is often misunderstood in the United States. It is reduced to a marketing holiday, a day of beer specials, paper flags, mariachi clichés, and the shallow consumption of Mexican culture without the burden of remembering Mexican history. But the heart of Cinco de Mayo is not consumption. It is resistance.
The day remembers the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated the French army, then one of the most powerful military forces in the world. It was not Mexican Independence Day. It was not the founding of Mexico. It was a day when a people under pressure from empire stood their ground. It was a day when the powerful were resisted by those who were supposed to lose. It was, at its deepest level, a day about memory, dignity, land, sovereignty, and the refusal to be swallowed by imperial appetite. (MySA)
That is why, for me, Cinco de Mayo cannot be separated from another May 5: May 5, 1991, in Washington, D.C.
I was there.
Read the rest of the essay at PeaceGrooves.com.
#AnabaptistPeaceWitness #BattleOfPuebla #CentralAmerica #CincoDeMayo #ColumbiaHeights #Comunidad #Displacement #EconomicRebuilding #Empire #Gentrification #immigrantJustice #Immigration #LatinAmericanYouthCenter #LatinoCommunity #LatinoHistory #MountPleasantRiots #Nonviolence #PeaceAndJustice #PoliceViolence #PropheticEssay #Puebla #remembrance #Resistance #sanctuary #SocialJustice #solidarity #TearGas #UrbanDevelopment #USForeignPolicy #WashingtonDC -
Resistance, Remembrance, and Comunidad: Cinco de Mayo, Mount Pleasant, and the Rebuilding That Erases
Cinco de Mayo is often misunderstood in the United States. It is reduced to a marketing holiday, a day of beer specials, paper flags, mariachi clichés, and the shallow consumption of Mexican culture without the burden of remembering Mexican history. But the heart of Cinco de Mayo is not consumption. It is resistance.
The day remembers the Battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862, when Mexican forces defeated the French army, then one of the most powerful military forces in the world. It was not Mexican Independence Day. It was not the founding of Mexico. It was a day when a people under pressure from empire stood their ground. It was a day when the powerful were resisted by those who were supposed to lose. It was, at its deepest level, a day about memory, dignity, land, sovereignty, and the refusal to be swallowed by imperial appetite. (MySA)
That is why, for me, Cinco de Mayo cannot be separated from another May 5: May 5, 1991, in Washington, D.C.
I was there.
Read the rest of the essay at PeaceGrooves.com.
#AnabaptistPeaceWitness #BattleOfPuebla #CentralAmerica #CincoDeMayo #ColumbiaHeights #Comunidad #Displacement #EconomicRebuilding #Empire #Gentrification #immigrantJustice #Immigration #LatinAmericanYouthCenter #LatinoCommunity #LatinoHistory #MountPleasantRiots #Nonviolence #PeaceAndJustice #PoliceViolence #PropheticEssay #Puebla #remembrance #Resistance #sanctuary #SocialJustice #solidarity #TearGas #UrbanDevelopment #USForeignPolicy #WashingtonDC -
@nm thanks for sharing. i skimmed your text:
> A philosophy against suffering cannot [...] build liberation through cruelty or peace through domination. If it does, then whatever purity it once had is gone.
without speaking about the specific incident, that made you write this post, i think there is a problem with this purity culture of #nonviolence. internally or externally, it pushes everyone to condemn the kirk shooter, to condemn hamas, and – as #MargaretKilljoy did repeatedly on her #podcast – to condemn animal liberation protesters. i'll link to that last one (as an example of what i dislike, even though it's by self-described "vegan" "anarchist" )
but — !
#racism is #politicalviolence.
#zionism is #politicalviolence.
#speciecism is #politicalviolence.
and all of these oppressive ideologies have killed and are killing disproportionately many
more people.if we condemn these acts of so-called #politicalviolence towards oppressors and demand "peace", let's be careful that we're not asking for that #negativepeace, which #MLK describes all to clearly in his #LetterFromBirminghamJail.
🎧 #CoolPeopleWhoDidCoolStuff: #SHAC and Modern Protest Tactics https://omny.fm/shows/cool-people-who-did-cool-stuff/part-one-shac-and-modern-protest-tactics https://omny.fm/shows/cool-people-who-did-cool-stuff/part-two-shac-and-modern-protest-tactics
-
NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Cruciblehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Cruciblehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Cruciblehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Cruciblehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Cruciblehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Crucible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Crucible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Crucible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Crucible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/30/26: John Sayles on Crucible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5gqQiaqWh0
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The Decisive Revolution
“Jesus is risen. The decisive revolution in world history has happened – a revolution of all-conquering love. If people would fully receive this revealed love into their own existence, into the reality of the ‘now’, then the logic of insanity could no longer continue.”
There are some lines that feel less like commentary and more like a struck bell. Rudi Dutschke’s Easter words are like that. They do not merely describe resurrection; they announce it as a historical detonation, a rupture in the order of things. They refuse to let Easter remain tucked away in pious sentiment, safe sanctuary ritual, or abstract doctrine. Instead, they cast resurrection as revolution. Not one revolution among many, but the decisive revolution in world history.
That is a breathtaking claim.
Read the rest of the essay at PeaceGrooves:
https://peacegrooves1.wordpress.com/2026/04/28/the-decisive-revolution/
#allConqueringLove #AnabaptistReflection #ChristianReflection #decisiveRevolution #Easter #EasterMeditation #JesusAndHistory #kingdomOfGod #loveStrongerThanDeath #Nonviolence #peaceTheology #politicalTheology #propheticWitness #RadicalDiscipleship #resurrection #ResurrectionHope #RudiDutschke #spiritualRevolution #Theology #Transformation -
#israel #palestine : #gaza / #westbank / #opt / #war / #violence / #family / #nonviolence / #reconciliation / #cfp / #pcff
„On Monday evening, we held the 2026 Israeli–Palestinian Joint Memorial Ceremony, together with the Parents Circle – Families Forum. It was a deeply moving, profoundly inspirational ceremony, filled with grief, strength, and hope. (...)
Below is a recording of the ceremony. Please watch and share it with all those who need to hear our message.” -
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/21/26: Keith Kelleher on Organizing #Workers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glI0Y_KbH8 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia #unions #labor #seiu
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/21/26: Keith Kelleher on Organizing #Workers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glI0Y_KbH8 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia #unions #labor #seiu
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/21/26: Keith Kelleher on Organizing #Workers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glI0Y_KbH8 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia #unions #labor #seiu
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/21/26: Keith Kelleher on Organizing #Workers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glI0Y_KbH8 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia #unions #labor #seiu
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/21/26: Keith Kelleher on Organizing #Workers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glI0Y_KbH8 #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia #unions #labor #seiu
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NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/21/26: Keith Kelleher on Organizing #Workers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glI0Y_KbH8
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
#unions #labor #seiu -
NOW PLAYING == Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/21/26: Keith Kelleher on Organizing #Workers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7glI0Y_KbH8
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
#unions #labor #seiu -
#israel #palestine: #peacemovement / #reconciliation / #nonviolence / #pcff / #nobelpricenomination
»‘The decision of Palestinian and Israeli bereaved families to work together for reconciliation is a courageous and extraordinary choice. Our choice to meet, to listen, and to build bridges of humanity and mutual understanding sends an important message to the international community.’«
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#spain #israel #palestine : #war / #genocide / #solidarity / #nonviolence / #blockaderunner
„A 2nd flotilla carrying #humanitarianaid to Palestinians in #Gaza was due to set sail on Sunday from the Spanish port of Barcelona to try to break the Israeli #blockade.
About 30 boats planned to leave the Mediterranean port city laden with #medicalaid and other supplies on the }GlobalSumudFlotilla, and more vessels are expected to join along the route towards Palestine.“
https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3349802/sumud-aid-flotilla-departs-spain-gaza-break-israeli-blockade?utm_source=rss_feed -
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NOW PLAYING Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/7/26: Matthew Hoh on #IranWar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO552X6NznU #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/7/26: Matthew Hoh on #IranWar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO552X6NznU #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/7/26: Matthew Hoh on #IranWar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO552X6NznU #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/7/26: Matthew Hoh on #IranWar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO552X6NznU #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW ON VERDANT SQUARE RADIO ==
NOW PLAYING Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/7/26: Matthew Hoh on #IranWar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO552X6NznU #news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/7/26: Matthew Hoh on #IranWar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO552X6NznU
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia
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NOW PLAYING Talk World Radio with David Swanson 4/7/26: Matthew Hoh on #IranWar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO552X6NznU
#news #peace #geopolitics #uspol #antiwar #nonviolence #DavidSwanson #WorldBeyondWar #NoWar #vsn #radio #peaceeducation #activism #resist #DiverseSpectrumOfTheLeft #SupportIndependentMedia