“…it is possible to unknowingly participate in the Kingdom of God before acknowledging the value of its Source: the King”- Jeff Christopherson
I am writing to you because I need to. This is as much for me to process what I have seen in the last few days as much as it is to share with you. There is much to grieve in hat has happened in our cities over the last 2-3 weeks and there is much that gives us hope.
In our city, COVID is taking a back burner to CHOP. CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) has been the subject of a lot of national conversation and local confusion. There is a lot being said right now- much of it inaccurate and driven by differing agendas- but there is one indisputable fact for those of us in Seattle who are followers of Jesus: we are to be peacemakers where we live. That includes CHOP.
That truth led me to go to the Capitol Hill area of our city and be present to pray and to observe. I was very unwilling at first, but compelled by Jesus’ heart for the people of our city. His kind of love always seeks understanding and only his heart of love will ever compel us to act on the understanding.
With the bright, freshly painted graffiti covering (and re-covering) every concrete wall in the area, it is easy to know when you have entered into the Protest area. Tents lived in by the protestors cover the ground usually empty except for a small group of people living homeless. Discussions are happening all over the grounds and it has a festival-like atmosphere. But, there are printed and painted signs stating “Remember why we are here” to remind the protestors that they have a purpose, a message to communicate to those who are listening.
In order to deescalate a tense situation, the police left the area a few days ago and left it to the protestors on the other side of the barricade. Since that time, the people of what was called CHAZ -and is now called CHOP- claimed victory. They call it de-colonization of Seattle…the beginning of a greater movement. Since that day, people are living their lives at Cal Anderson park and the adjacent streets, creating art and writing poetry that communicates their message. Though we can all agree that the lives of people of color are valuable, that is not the only message loudly and forcefully proclaimed.
I will let my pictures share more clearly than I can, but I want to communicate what I saw. What I saw is a deep, put-your-life-on-the-line desire for what can only be called “revolution.” Revolution is more than reform, it is tearing down what is old and destructive (in their perception) and rebuilding something in its place. The colorful language does not water their message down. CHOP wants to communicate that black lives are unique and valuable and also that the capitalist system needs to be undercut and, at least metaphorically, burned down.
Even though our city is tech-oriented and strives to be the leader in a new era of capitalism, there are still influential groups of people who think it should all go. All of it. Now.
When the Lord told Jeremiah to write a letter to exiles in Babylon and for them to seek the “peace” of the city, he meant a city as confused and corrupt and rebellious as our own. The God of Peace, our God who makes peace, wants his people to love the people of our city by creating truthful, substantive peace.
It is this “peace” (wholeness, fullness, “rightness”) that our neighbors in CHOP believe they are working towards. In my second visit last night, my friend Adam and I got to speak with a couple- AR and JN- from Oregon who drove 4 plus hours to protest in solidarity with CHOP. They and their children are living in tents over the next couple of days, ready to take rubber bullets to the chest if they need to. I asked AR what drove him there (other than his Subaru)…what drives him to all of the protests he takes his family to. AR said that he hates the “world system” that oppresses people and he wants to take a stand. He wants to teach his kids what matters. We got to talk to AR and JN for around 2 hours on the grass in CHOP, hearing their story. All the while, we are listening for connection points to the gospel. (We did get to share about Jesus with them, briefly, but as soon as we started it was obvious they didn’t want to hear anything different than what they already believe, nor really discuss it.)
What I noticed about AR and JN- who are very clearly not believers and who are very openly following a mindset that is unquestionably anti-Christ- is that they, being made in God’s image, have a longing to see the world be “right.” They would fight for the world to be “right.” Though I asked him what that meant, he couldn’t explain it, but he would know it when he saw it. He wanted to make it happen by putting his body on the frontlines of issues he sees as “unjust” wherever that might be in the country. He sacrifices greatly for his cause because he wants to pass on what matters to him to the next generation so they will join in the revolution.
He and Jen are what Jeff Christopherson describes as “kingdom seekers”: those who do not have faith in Jesus, but seem to be (very imperfectly) seeking the Kingdom that Jesus is bringing. They want the beauty of a loving and just world, just without a Loving and Just King to rule their hearts. Of course there is no transformed Kingdom without the Transforming King shaping the hearts of his people, but the “kingdom seeker” still reflect the image of God in such a way that they want to create a new society. Unfortunately, it is not by the power of the Spirit, but by the power of a selfish will and an “I’m on the right side of history, why aren’t you” mentality.
That is what I love (and fear) about the people of our city: that people are passionate for a purpose. They feel that the world isn’t right and want to do something about it, even if they are (knowingly or unknowingly) throwing more fuel on the fire of personal prejudice and other injustices. Though there is so much to grieve, there is also so many ways to hope!
What if the passion the people of CHOP have for justice would be transformed and remade? What if they surrendered to Jesus as king of their lives so they could be a part of the eternal movement that is dependent on God’s Spirit and not the fervor of Marxist ideology?
What if the Spirit called AR to faith in Jesus and AR didn’t spend his life any longer looking for rubber bullets to take on, but would treasure his King enough to put his life on the line among an unreached people group…and his kid’s faith would grow too?
Would you pray for the people of our city? Would you pray that Jesus’ Church would seek real peace among our people? Would you pray that we would have a prophetic voice among our not-yet-believing neighbors that is both truth-filled and full of grace like Jesus himself is?