[D]mergent

The great crime against the Roman Empire by the early church
was neither political opposition nor armed insurrection –
it was much worse.

The great crime of the early church
was to ignore and sidestep the Empire
proving that The Way of the Empire was not absolute
making The Way of the Empire irrelevant.

The Way of the Empire is
piety, war, victory, peace
the Emperor is Lord
relational complexity
relations as conquests and politics.

The Way of the Empire is,
for the individual,
success or failure
failure as poverty, hunger, nakedness, powerlessness, servitude, slavery, early death
success as wealth, well-fed, fine clothing, political influence, military command, long life.

The Way of the Empire is
inevitable, inescapable, singular, myopic –
there is no other way.

The Way of the Good News is
the personal and persistent unrestrained love and unconditional grace of God and
the feeding quenching clothing healing visiting welcoming compassion and
the reparative rehabilitating restorative justice of the Community and
the inclusive hospitality and joyous generosity and healthy service of the Individual.

The Way of the Good News is
an earthly life of divine wisdom
centered in the perpetual presence of God
requiring no piety, no war, no conquests
requiring no militant victories, no war-won war-worn peace
requiring no Empire
ignoring Empire responses, dismissing Empire demands
making Empire expectations, attitudes, values, requirements irrelevant
negating Empire culture, dismantling Empire government
displacing The Way of the Empire
with The Way of the Good News
living fearlessly and simply and together
as a sharing Community and a loving Family and a grace-full Kingdom of God.

I am invited to commit the same great crime.
The Way I choose is…?