December 5

One of my movement mentors, Grace Lee Boggs, was known for asking organizers she was in conversation with the same question: “what time is it on the clock of the world?”  She wanted us to know where we were, to be oriented in place and time – socially, culturally, and historically – so that we could better envision where we were going and how we would get there.  I wonder if the author of Romans was invoking a similar sensibility among their comrades when they wrote, “Besides this, you know what time it is…”  In the heart of empire, surrounded by occupying forces, those early Christians needed to be oriented in place and time just like we do.  For them then and for us now, at least part of the answer this Advent (and maybe every Advent) seems to be, it’s time to wake up.

Wake up to the enslaving paradigms of our day like white Christian nationalism and Christian Zionism.

Wake up to increased surveillance and repression.

Wake up to rising fascism and authoritarianism.

Wake up to anti-immigrant violence, kidnappings, and detainment.

Wake up to the attacks on trans, nonbinary and queer lives and flourishing.

Wake up to militarization of police, the occupation of our cities, and the disproportionate impact experienced by poor communities and communities of color.

Wake up to our ongoing support of and complicity in genocide in Palestine.

Wake up to the increased vulnerability of vulnerable populations as social services and supports are undermined and eliminated.

But this is not all just gloom and doom.  What Grace Lee Boggs and the author of Romans remind us is that this waking up is not meant to lead us to despair or incapacitate us with overwhelm. “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers…” Waking up, knowing what time it is, is a key component of our Advent preparing and waiting, hoping and expecting, longing and dreaming for Love’s dwelling with us in flesh and bone.  Knowing what time it is means being able to intervene, to imagine new possibilities, and to create pathways toward freedom like our abolitionist ancestors, past and present.  This is how salvation comes near – in our honest assessments, our genuine accountability, our rooted and radical imaginings, and our choosing every day to find new ways toward collective liberation.  So, do you know what time it is?

Prayer

Inhale: These times are troubled.
Exhale: Salvation is near.