Preface: While Brew Theology is an interfaith alliance of autonomous communities with no statement of faith, I, Ryan Miller, write these words as one that identifies as a Christian. Perhaps, these words can be applicable to you whatever religion or spirituality you ascribe to as well!

Where should we stand during these divisive times?

As a Christian, the life and teachings of Jesus is the focus for daily living. He transforms the polarizing questions of our time—like whether to stand with Israel or Palestine, Trump or Kamala, left or right —just as he did in the 1st century. Jesus stood within the heart of all humankind, and his message was one of nonviolence, peace, and compassion for everyone, regardless of their religion, tribe, political affiliation, sexuality, gender, or nationality. The earliest followers of Jesus, after all, came alongside people from all walks of life—Jew, Gentile, slave, free, male, female, the poor, the wealthy, the marginalized, and the “in-crowd”—believing in a kingdom-family of shalom for all nations.

As followers of Jesus, we – Christians – must choose a different path, that road less traveled, if you will. Jesus' Way is rooted in peace, not in payback or violence. It is about turning swords into plowshares, loving our enemies, and showing mercy over retribution. The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on this radical 3rd Way as we close out the year. The 1st Century followers of The Way anticipated the coming of a peaceful kingdom; this vision still calls us to a posture of repentance—turning from the ways of the conventional world (hate speech, name calling, toxic echo chambers, violence, anxiety-ridden rhetoric, etc.), and back toward affectionate friendship, virtuousness, restraint, delight, forbearance, fidelity, benevolence, gentleness, and tangible good will.

Whether someone is on the far-right, a left-wing progressive, or somewhere in between, it is hard to find any context where Jesus advocated for violence. His message was clear: those who live by the sword will die by the sword. "Put away your swords," he said, pointing his followers toward peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Make no mistake; this is a literal, bloody interpretive understanding of sword, but we need to take this truth to our modern speech as well! Our tongues are swords, and these weapons are on full force all over social media these days!

As we put away our “swords,” it is imperative to meditate on the light moving into the darkest time of the year; doing so, we must also acknowledge the bitterness of life. These are days and nights to reflect on the past year's suffering—whether it’s personal loss, death, depression, natural disasters, or global tragedies like the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This is a time to remember both the bitter and the sweet, just as life continually brings both. We must sit in this pain before we stand. As we do this, let’s ask the question, “How have I become bitter? Before we start pointing the fingers to blame others for creating this bitterness, let’s be bold and humble enough to seek out what we can do to transcend the bitterness for the betterment of mind, body, soul, and collective harmony?

Jesus' people are called to unveil the kingdom of heaven every day—a kingdom that is within our midst. It’s already at hand! In doing so, we are to join in God’s work of healing and liberation, lifting those who are broken and despised. Today, and tomorrow, we hope for the best in the coming year, but we also recognize the reality of bitterness. We acknowledge the adversaries, enemies, and people we need to forgive and love.

So, where do we – collectively – stand?

We must stand with humanity—with the broken and the oppressed and move toward loving and blessing our enemies and adversaries. We stand with the people in Israel, and in Palestine, the MAGA people and liberals in our midst, and beyond. We stand for peace, nonviolence, and reconciliation, grounded in Jesus' radical teachings. Either Christians follow Jesus' Way, or they follow the harsh ways of the bitter world. The world follows a path of division, exclusion, and destruction. But Jesus' Way is one of compassion, mercy, and healing.

We carry onward and cultivate the muscles of joy in the fiber of our being to anticipate a kingdom of shalom on earth—the healing and ingathering of all nations – a world where swords are turned into plowshares and love triumphs over hate.

Let’s stand together, rooted in sacred humanity. Let’s stand with God's entire family: the armor of love, joy, and peace on earth as it is in heaven.

- Ryan Miller