Gospel Novum

At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. The moment he came out of the water, he saw the sky split open and God’s Spirit, looking like a dove, come down on him. Along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”

After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Message of God: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” (‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭9-11, 14-15‬ MSG)

Novum (Latin “new”] the primary element in a work of science fiction by which the work is shown to exist in a different world than that of the reader.

Ferguson. A cry in a large choir singing for…no…angrily weeping for justice. For those with ears to hear and eyes to see there is a call for a new world. A world soaked through with racial justice. This is our world. A world traumatized by the 500 year-old world-story of white supremacy. Hold up, don’t shoot. This happens in our world.

Ferguson. In the midst of this old world-story something new is emerging. Democratic energies emerging. Fearless Youth learning their powerful voices. A community challenging political inequities. The peacefully maladjusted are asking deeper questions that challenge a false politic.

Ancient Jordan. Roman Imperial oppression. Stolen lands. Patrimony. Dashed hopes. Ancient politricks. Something new emerges. The old world-story is traumatized by the Spirit. It is literally torn by newness. As in the days of Noah a new world comes in the form of a dove. The impetus for this Novum lands on God’s Son. The Son ushers in gospel novum. This is what the Spirit does: it provokes the emergence of newness.

Like Ferguson (our Jordan), we see a call for newness from the margins of ancient Palestine. The message and the promise of a new political reality called the kingdom of God. This newness comes from the unheard spaces. The Spirit disrupts among the unheard. As Rev William Barber, of the Moral Monday movement, has said: “change during the Civil Rights movement came from Selma to D.C.. Not the other way around.”

In a gospel novum, world transformation comes from our Jordans to our Jerusalems. This is the emergence we are witnessing today. What we see (I hope you see it) in Ferguson is a cry for a new world. Where are the Jordans and Fergusons in your community? Do you hear the call to exit the old world-story and participate in this novum in the margins?

Gospel Novum is already here will you join in?