When Solidarity is Called Insurrection
True love for neighbor will always unsettle empires
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In the streets of Los Angeles this weekend, the people rose in solidarity with their neighbors and to resist injustice.
They protested ICE raids tearing apart families.
They stood against a president deploying National Guard troops on protesters.
They planted their feet against oncoming vehicles, smoke grenades, and armed officers.
And they were labeled “insurrectionists.”
“Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America's political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil.” — JD Vance
Deport the invaders, or surrender to insurrection. These are the choices. —Stephen Miller
This act of mis-naming protestors comes from a regime and a president that pardoned those who stormed the Capitol on January 6—a literal insurrection that sought to overturn a legitimate election through violence.
We are witnessing the wicked inversion of truth.
When the empire calls justice an insurrection, the church must speak clearly and embody justice boldly.
Jesus Insurrectionist
This regime would have called Jesus and insurrectionist.
In a way, they’d be right.
Jesus came to topple kingdoms—kingdoms of oppression and corruption.
But he did not do it with swords or bloodshed.
He confronted the kingdoms of this world with peace, truth, and a love so deep that he laid down his life for others.
The president is about to hold a massive military parade. Ostensibly, for the Army’s 250th anniversary. It also happens to be on his birthday.
But Jesus did not enter Jerusalem with a military processional. He did not come in a display of power, but of humility.
His trial before Pontius Pilate exposed the moral rot in the foundation of the ruling order.
Jesus’ resurrection was an insurrection against empire—Roman and American, and all others.
It was a declaration that no earthly kingdom would ever triumph over his heavenly one.
This is the way of sanctified resistance.
Not violent overthrow but an imperturbable commitment to truth-telling and costly solidarity with the vulnerable.
The Real Threat to Authoritarianism
Today we see the empire at work again.
Federal troops in the streets. Immigrant families targeted.
Protestors gassed and libeled.
All the while, those who once desecrated the halls of Congress are pardoned and celebrated.
Perhaps they even now populate the ranks of ICE.
A Never-Ending Kingdom
We cannot keep them from calling solidarity an insurrection.
If we lift up the lowly, if we refuse to bend the knee to authoritarians, if we march to defend the vulnerable—then so be it.
Let them label us what they will.
But our ultimate allegiance is not to an earthly empire.
We follow the Prince of Peace—whose kingdom breaks chains, mends the broken, and topples the thrones of tyranny.
A kingdom where swords are beaten into plowshares.
Where the last are first.
Where love is the law.
And of this kingdom there shall be no end.
I would encourage you to add a clear call that solidarity always be grounded in active nonviolence. Robert Reich's post today emphasizes the practical side of this, that if our protests include any violence (as the LA protests did), that opens the way for the regime to justify a police state. (See https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/a-time-for-non-violent-civil-disobedience?r=1cyort&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email ). And for our work as followers of Jesus, principled active nonviolent resistance is our call.
Thank you for this brief, wise analysis of this spiritual battle. I attended my first protest, Hands Off, April 5th. It is not something I would have ever expected to do at age 60, and I was a little embarrassed at first, but the moment I raised my 'Hands Off Immigrants!' sign, I felt like I was in unity with all the saints who came before me, including the suffragettes without whom I'd have no representation. I will attend my local No Kings protest June 14th, and in answer to your question, I am going to let my pastor know about it this time. I want him to start hearing from me and others in his congregation who oppose this evil government.