"The time that remains is between now and midnight."
comment made by Kyle Lambert, presenter on panel Atmospheric Affects:
Political Theologies of Hope, Sorrow and EcoSocial Resilience
I attended the conference with my friend
and fellow mission co-worker and trouble maker, Max Surjadinata . He too was unfamiliar with the term. At one
point we looked at each other and I said, “I think we have been doing this all
along.” He smiled and nodded yes back. Our call to ministry is to follow Jesus into the streets.
This was the second Network Conference of scholars, activists, and theologians from around the world. Here is a sampling of some of the titles
of their talks:
- Agamben’s Messianism in the Postcolonial World: Reimaging the Sovereignty of the TraumatizedNation-State Amidst the Global Refugee Crisis;
- Images of Fundamentalism in the Newly Democratizing States: The Emergence of Religious Nationalism in Indonesia and Myanmar
- Political Theology of Trauma;
- Simone Weil’s Political Theology of the Corpus Mysticum: Rending the Body of Christ; Counting on Apocalypse.
I felt like Alice down
the rabbit hole. I had entered an intellectual terrain that was both familiar
and foreign. I grasped for the low hanging fruits of things I could understand
and let go of trying to hold onto everything. There were a few things I came
away with pertinent to my pastoral ministry and my current preoccupation, obsession, with
climate justice or climate catastrophe as many refer to these times, the
times directly calling out end time scenarios of apocalypse if we
don’t change our course now.
The apostle Paul two
thousand years ago noted, “The appointed time is short (1Cor. 7:29). In Greek,
theologian Catherine Keller points out that the word translated short is far
more complicated, inviting and political. It means “gathered together” or “contracted.”
Keller learned about this by reading political philosopher Giorgio Agamben in
his meditation on Paul, The Time that Remains.
You get the drift by
now, right? Philosophers, agnostics, atheists scholars are now very
interested in the intersection of how “Theos” or divinity intersects with all
aspects of life. It is no longer forbidden or suspect for academics to talk
about theology as an important aspect of all aspects of our social, economic, and
political life. Theology is not politics, but it is already political because
it arises out of particular social-political context. Heady stuff.
At the end of Day 2 during our reception students from Union passed out playing card size posters
announcing that “Union Theological Seminary plans to erect a 42 story tower of
luxury condos and therefore contribute to the displacement of poor and Black
communities in Harlem through gentrification.” The card also made reference to
the tradition of the Tarot calling attention to the fact that the fall of the
Tower symbolizes destruction, danger, and crisis. Then in bold letters, “Union’s
tower will destroy and endanger already marginalized communities.” We were urged to Union to stop the Tower. Then students rolled out banners and lit some candles and gave speeches urging immediate action.
Ironic, appropriate,
hypocritical. All true. How could Union dare to hold such a conference in light
of these facts on the ground? How could they not? How can any of us, flawed and
imperfect, not at least try to deal with the political theological realities we
are participating or living in?
I left the conference full to brimming over with new ideas on how to develop a political theology up to the call to develop a hazardous hope during this contracted time that honors our collective grief and yet doesn't paralyze us into inaction or despair. I will try to articulate this in a down to earth way. It will involve looking at those apocalyptic texts I have always avoided and maybe even re-reading Paul. Join me.
I left the conference full to brimming over with new ideas on how to develop a political theology up to the call to develop a hazardous hope during this contracted time that honors our collective grief and yet doesn't paralyze us into inaction or despair. I will try to articulate this in a down to earth way. It will involve looking at those apocalyptic texts I have always avoided and maybe even re-reading Paul. Join me.