2018 prophecy
It has been fifty years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. His vision of racial and economic justice, his dream for a common humanity, his hope in the kingdom of God, were brutally interrupted and have yet to be realized. 2018 will be a year of reckoning.
In the past years, we have seen and heard the fervor of demonic powers and principalities rearing their ugly heads, shouting vulgarities from the rooftops, declaring selfishness and fear as love. In a time where brown bodies are being systematically targeted for deportation or incarceration, where women worldwide acclaim #metoo, with renewed threats of nuclear war, it feels and seems hopeless. But this is not a season of their reign – it is the season of their exorcism. No longer moving in the shadows, they have been brought to light and it is in that light that they will be brought to justice.
For out of barrenness, out of the wilderness new life is born. Out of the deep void, the Creator brought forth life. After the great flood came the new covenant. Hannah’s tears ushered forth Samuel’s birth. The exile of Moses led to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. From the desolation of the cross came the dawn of a new victorious age.
The Lord hears the cries of desperation of his people. The cries of families torn apart by war, disaster, and immigration policy. The cries of those denied the opportunity and ability to live meaningful lives through systems that value capital and personal liberty above shared humanity. The cries of dehumanized, objectified bodies. Even Creation groans at our exploitative stewardship.
As MLK stated: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
What then does the year behold? In 2017, it became clear that we cannot just let a few be leaders and workers for justice. From the Women’s March to the Last Jedi, we become resilient not through personal strength, but through community. We cannot be so concerned with looking for heroes that we miss this essential truth: we are the conduit through which the arc of the universe is bent.
“Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:4 (NRSVCE)
However, let us not forget we are in the midst of intense spiritual warfare.
Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.
Revelation 12:17 (NRSVCE)
Theotokos, pray for your children as we make war against the enemy and spiritual forces of darkness.
Are we not the Church Militant? Let us all continue to pray, continue to do justice, and continue to seek after the kingdom of God.