{"id":2057,"date":"2014-12-17T10:44:08","date_gmt":"2014-12-17T15:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/teachingnonviolentatonement\/?p=2057"},"modified":"2014-12-18T12:29:23","modified_gmt":"2014-12-18T17:29:23","slug":"advent-the-faith-to-scream-its-not-okay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/teachingnonviolentatonement\/2014\/12\/advent-the-faith-to-scream-its-not-okay\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent: The Faith to Scream \u201cIt\u2019s Not Okay!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Advent candles symbolizing John 1:5 - \"The light shines in the darkness.\" (Copyright: martinan \/ 123RF Stock Photo )<\/a>
Advent candles symbolizing John 1:5 \u2013 \u201cThe light shines in the darkness.\u201d (Copyright: martinan \/ 123RF Stock Photo<\/a> )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She sat in total shock. Her head rested in her hands as her long hair hid her face. She was silent for forty-five minutes. And then the river of tears began to flow.<\/p>\n

It was the most traumatic event I\u2019ve experienced in ten years of ministry. The pain and distress of a murdered family member were unbearable.<\/p>\n

As she wept uncontrollably, her sister stepped into the void to hold her. \u201cIt\u2019s okay. It\u2019s okay,\u201d her sister gently encouraged.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! It\u2019s not okay! It\u2019s not okay! It\u2019s not okay!\u201d<\/p>\n

Those were the words that struck me that night. In the face of horror, trauma, and evil, the most faithful thing to do is to protest, to scream, \u201cIt\u2019s not okay!\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians are in the midst of the Advent season. The word advent comes from the Latin word adventus<\/em>, which means<\/a> \u201can arrival or coming, especially one which is awaited.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Advent, Christians anticipate celebrating the first coming of Jesus at Christmas and we await his second coming when Jesus will set the world right. Since \u201cJesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,\u201d as the Letter to the Hebrews<\/a> teaches, we know that some ideas about the second coming are wrong. Jesus won\u2019t come again with a heavenly military and guns blazing to kill the \u201cbad guys.\u201d No. Jesus will come again to set the world right in the same way he came the first time \u2013 with God\u2019s unconditional, universal, and nonviolent love.<\/p>\n

Until then, we need to have the bold and subversive faith to protest. Advent faith doesn\u2019t ignore the darkness of the world. It claims the world\u2019s violence is not okay. But Advent doesn\u2019t just protest. The Advent wreath is a symbol that the light shines in the darkness<\/a>. Advent faith shines a light in the darkness by working through God\u2019s unconditional, universal, and nonviolent love to participate in helping to make the world right.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many of us have come to accept violence. Another school shooting? Terrorists holding people hostage? Another \u201ccasualty of war\u201d? Police officers abusing their power? Continued racism? \u201cAh,\u201d we apathetically respond. \u201cIt\u2019s horrible. But there\u2019s nothing we can do. It\u2019s just how the world works.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others have a different response. We want to get the bastards! Violence rules the day and spreads like a contagious disease. As Ren\u00a0Girard states in his book The One By Whom Scandal Comes<\/a><\/em>, \u201cPeople everywhere today are exposed to a contagion of violence that perpetuates cycles of vengeance.\u201d These are the rules of violence and we play by the rules. We respond to violence with vengeance, only to lead the world deeper into future of apocalyptic destruction.<\/p>\n

But Advent protests. It says no to apathy and to vengeance. Advent awaits the One who changed the world forever because he wasn\u2019t apathetic. He refused to believe that violence is just how the world works. Rather, he challenged violence at its core precisely because he didn\u2019t play by its rules. He played by a different set of rules \u2013 the Kingdom of God. Advent faith takes seriously Jesus\u2019 command to forgive one another and turn the other cheek, not because we\u2019re weak doormats, but because we\u2019re rebels who disobey the rules of violence with a completely different set of rules: The nonviolent love of the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

Like a girl weeping in the midst of a traumatic experience, Advent looks at the violence in the world and refuses to accept it. Advent faith proclaims, \u201cNo! It\u2019s not okay. The light shines in the darkness. A better world is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

She sat in total shock. Her head rested in her hands as her long hair hid her face. She was silent for forty-five minutes. And then the river of tears began to flow. It was the most traumatic event I\u2019ve experienced in ten years of ministry. The pain and distress of a murdered family member […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1651,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9,529,63,107,137,528,156,205],"class_list":["post-2057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-advent","tag-darkness","tag-faith","tag-jesus","tag-nonviolence","tag-protest","tag-rene-girard","tag-violence"],"yoast_head":"\nAdvent: The Faith to Scream \u201cIt\u2019s Not Okay!\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"She sat in total shock. Her head rested in her hands as her long hair hid her face. 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