John R. Preston, author of the recent book Wrestling Until the Dawn: The Fight for Biblical Justice in a Postmodern World, builds on the recent books by David Korten and Mark Taylor to urge that in preaching today, we follow the example of Jesus, who "in his non-violent approach to injustice, used stories to question, satirize, and thereby undermine the empire of his time and place."

Many of us who find ourselves in progressive religious and political streams are concerned about the future of our planet, its species, and the human project itself.

Global warming, deforestation, the loss of fertile life-giving soil, the shortage of clean water, etc., are signs that the sustainability of our planet may be reaching a disastrous tipping point. We are familiar with various analyses. For example, global institutions such as the World Bank and World Trade Organization that are rooted in neo-liberal ideology are increasingly seen as problematic. This ideology, embraced by both the major political parties in the United States, is especially promoted by the present alliance of the neocons with theocratic right wing Christian groups and leaders of many U.S. based global corporations.

The big question is: What can tip us away from this paradigm of ecological disaster and toward a sustainable and just way of living? The role of master narratives, both civic and religious, is being discussed as key to tipping in a new direction. For example, David Korten, in his book The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, asserts that the powers of empire have controlled three major narratives that lock us into the present paradigm of empire. He points to stories of security, prosperity, and meaning, and details what he believes to be the ideologies associated with each of these stories. He calls for a deconstruction of these stories of empire and a replacement by new stories that would lead to his sustainable vision of "earth community."

Mark Taylor, recent lecturer at a Ghost Ranch seminar sponsored by the Witherspoon Society, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship, and Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, has written a book entitled Religion, Politics, and the Christian Right: Post 9/11 Powers and American Empire. Taylor understands that the power of the present alliance of what he calls "Neocons," "Theocons," and "CEOcons" is derived from the manipulation of the myths of American romanticism. Such a manipulation, though it narrows and absolutizes the stories of America, taps into the powerful need for citizens of the nation to know they belong, and grounds their being in our national community. Although we are a diverse nation with many internal arguments and conflicts among ethnic groups, race, class, and even sections of the country, we still have a common need to be American.

The attack on the nation on 9/11 was, Taylor claims, a mythic moment as well as an historic one. Out of fear and anger it released the latent power of myths about America and what it means to be an American. As we know, the Bush administration used this mythic moment to frighten the nation into a much more nationalistic and aggressive military mode of empire.

Taylor advances a solution to the power of reactionary myths in the "broadening and deepening" of the American ontology. Broadening entails addressing social structures caused by prejudice and exclusion. Deepening modifies hierarchical structures created by dominations of gender, class, race, etc. He sees this happening through "peoples’ movements and everyday practices, to engage, counter, and redirect the forces of American Romanticism…" (96-101)

If today our salvation is properly focused on a redemptive tipping toward "earth community," aren’t we called to the same tasks to broaden and deepen through our every Sunday worship opportunity? My own recent book (Wrestling Until the Dawn: The Fight for Biblical Justice in a Postmodern World, www.lulu.com/Spiritbrookpress) takes this possibility seriously. I propose a postmodern theological lens which can help to tell the stories of the faith in a way that contributes both to the broadening and deepening suggested by Taylor and the stories of prosperity, security, and meaning discussed by Korten.

In my study of the Jesus Seminar and its research of the historical Jesus I discovered that Jesus, in his non-violent approach to injustice, used stories to question, satirize, and thereby undermine the empire of his time and place. These stories were parables of wisdom that he shared with people he encountered. It has been said by scholars that whereas myth provides legitimacy to a given social system and order, parables function to question such myths.

An example is the parable of the mustard seed found in Luke 13:18-19. Unlike the domesticated versions in Mark and Matthew, this version suggests that God’s empire is not "pure and great" like earthly kingdoms. The mustard seed is undesirable, as are the peasants who hear Jesus’ parables. However, when it is sown it produces a tree that the birds can nest in. It becomes a different kind of tree or empire. This was an empire which challenged the legitimacy of the Roman empire. It was of course, God’s empire. Are not our most sensitive preachers called to a similar task in our day? Are we not called to the tasks of broadening and deepening our American narratives, guided by the parables?

The calling to preach this kind of bad news/good news is most challenging. This is especially so in a time when our government has framed our "being American" in the context of an unending "war on terrorism." The story-telling preacher must understand the underlying history and myths of America that have captivated so many fellow citizens and Christians. We must also understand the ways of politics and economics which obstruct the broadening and deepening of the American ontology. Then we need to bring our parable-telling prowess to the mix. This entire bag of knowledge and skill is needed to critique the power of American myths that proclaim that we are a nation that has been exclusively chosen by God to bring democracy, prosperity, and the American "way of life" to the globe. Our calling is not only to be true to the gospel of Jesus and the covenant of justice in the Old Testament, but also to be true to the noblest ideals of the American creed. I believe that we honor the best of our traditions by preaching the gospel from a perspective called for by the authors above. Most importantly, such preaching "tips" us toward a sustainable and just future.

John R. Preston
July, 2006