Exile and the Empire
Exile. Stranger. Foreigner.
At the foundation our exile existence means that our citizenship is always elsewhere. For the Christ-follower it is the kingdom of God.
The new kingdom was announced at the Son’s exile from heaven and his arrival in the person of Jesus on earth. He began his ministry with these words, “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15). Even though he wore the clothes of his people, and spoke their mother tongue, and ate their food, he did not quite fit in.
“He came to his own and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11).
When you live and speak Kingdom it is always with an accent.
Why? Kingdom living is an invasion into enemy territory. The apostle John said it this way in his letter to the church – “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (I john 5:19). It is not just that we are on foreign ground it is blatantly antagonistic ground.
And the Kingdom to which we belong is not as concrete as the other kingdoms of this world. The Kingdom that Jesus announced and demonstrated remains a not so obvious kingdom. This should not be surprising because its King is always present but not always obvious.
Now but not yet.
Hidden like yeast in bread.
One day a small seed and the next day a growing tree.
Tangible in demonstration yet allusive in experience and description.
Globally active and yet without physical embassies. Present in the ambassadors who carry its credentials. Authority but no official recognition among the other embassies of the world.
The rule and reign of God. Talk about world super power. And yet its passport bearing citizens still pray to the King “your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Kingdom in exile within Empire.
Empire. The name changes from epoch to epoch.
Joseph lived on exile in Egypt. He arrived on exile through being in exile – jealousy of brothers, slave caravan, jilted temptress, and prison. In the end he realized that the in exilewas part of the larger plan – the in exile was meant for evil but God (the real King) transformed it to good for the saving of many.
Esther and Nehemiah – the empire was Persia.
Daniel – the empire was Babylon.
Jesus – the empire was Rome.
Paul – the religious empire was Judaism; the political empire was Rome; and the intellectual empire was Hellenism.
For me – most of my life the empire has been the United States of America.
Some Empires are more dangerous than others. Some Empires are ruled by blatant tyrants who use abuse and fear to maintain “order.” For other Empires the dangers are more insidious and hidden. Even Empires built with checks and balances in the power structure to guard a better life for its citizens have systemic evil embedded in the system. Power is hard to manage well and not “all the people” have the same access to the better life.
Even if the Empire is running on general principles of righteousness and justice for all, an unholy alliance can supersede the allegiance to the greater kingdom. Patriotism can be divisive of heart – and the true King made it clear that a person cannot serve two masters. Isms are always dangerous in the loyalty they demand.
So how does one live on exile in the Empire? I think the answer is embedded in all the examples of God’s people noted above. They flourished and they used their influence to bless others.
There was favor on their lives. Joseph had one setback after another and yet the people in the Empire of his exile recognized favor on him –“the Lord was with Joseph”- as noted by Potiphar, prison warden, and even Pharaoh.
Daniel, Esther, and Nehemiah even worked their way into the middle of the power structure of the Empire. Nothing in their stories suggest that they had a master plan to move up the ladder. They were in the right place at the right time and God was telling a better story in the midst of their exile.
They did benefit from their places within the Empire but it was not without sacrifice, nor a wholly engaged relation with their God. In the end, they were not the only beneficiaries. Their presence proved strategic for the other people in exilewho had a calling to be on exile even though they might not have realized it.
People of favor know they do not belong to the Empire. They have a loyalty outside the Empire. Even so, they invest their lives for the flourishing within the broken Empire. They might not be Egyptian, or Babylonian, or Persian, but they live in such a way that these secondary citizenships are served. They may be Jewish, Roman citizen, or even American, so they bless the people of their secondary citizenship but they are never fully at home.
One of my friends and colleagues refers to it as a foot fully in the culture of the Empire and a foot fully out of the Empire.
Incarnational – fully in.
Prophetic – fully willing to challenge. And the challenge may not be verbal as much as it is demonstrated by a different way of living and loving.
Why? If the Empire is dangerous why not just keep both feet out?
Because we are on exile not just in exile. Another way to say it is that we are on mission. How will the kingdom of the not yet come to the Empire of the now if the ambassadors cluster in monasteries and lose their connection to the people and systems of the Empire.
The Kingdom strikes back. The sequel to end all sequels.
So to all the Josephs and Nehemiahs and Esthers and Daniels out there I have a word of encouragement. I know you do not feel that you fully belong. And at the same time you feel at times like you are flourishing in the midst of the Empire. No reflex of guilt for enjoying the incarnation part. No pressure from pluralism for quieting your prophetic presence.
BE ON EXILE! Not just in exile.
The kingdom of God is at hand. And you are the ambassador.
On exile with you in a long tradition of exiles.
