The Gift of Not Belonging

I know the feeling of not belonging.

As an immigrant from Nicaragua, I feel like I don't fully belong to this place I call home. Through the 13 years I've been in this country, however, I have adopted some of its values and cultures, while at the same time not abandoning fully my own Nicaraguan values and culture.

Because of this, I feel like I don't fully belong in Nicaragua anymore. My Spanish accent has changed and it is no longer fully Nicaraguan, for example. My newly adopted western values are sometimes in conflict with my Nicaraguan ones.

I am stuck in the middle of two cultures.

A Progressive, But Not A Liberal
But the feeling of not belonging doesn't stop there.

Politically, I feel I don't belong to any of the polarized political positions in this country. I don't feel fully comfortable belonging to either the Republican or Democratic party. I have strong disagreements with both.

In many ways I am a progressive. I feel my calling as a Christian is to see the perspective of the poor first, not because they are somehow more "deserving" (how can we talk of someone being deserving or not in a religion that stands on Grace?), but because the world puts them last.

Jesus hanged out with sinners and tax collectors. He hanged out with the poor. In my imitation of Christ, I want to do likewise. This is what makes me a progressive, even if I don't fully buy into the liberal agenda.

It is for this reason that I support raising the minimum wage to a livable minimum wage. This aligns with my conviction that people are more than what they do, and that in an economy that needs the janitor as much as they need the CEO, they should both be afforded a wage that can sustain them and their families with dignity.

It is for this reason that I want to call this nation to show more hospitality to immigrants. When Paul proclaims that in Christ there is no Jew or Greek (one of the racial and spiritual divisions of the time) he is leaving issues of nationalistic values as secondary to our call of seeing the other as our brother and sister.

The way the world mistreats the "other," the foreigner around the world, is heartbreaking. It seems to me that we value more our nationalistic identity than our call to love our neighbor. When Jesus responded to the Pharisees' question of, "who is my neighbor?" He responded with a parable that highlighted a Samaritan, the hated 'other' in that context.

Our neighbors are not only people of our own kind but the "other" our culture fears and despises. Even if we are disposed to not include the foreigner as our neighbor but more as our enemy, the command from Jesus to love our enemies still applies and calls us to love.

Love, for the Christian, is inescapable.

It is for this reason that I feel uncomfortable supporting most Republican candidates, because they (at the current choices) don't strike me as being welcoming to the immigrant. In fact, many of them want to deport the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country whom they see as not belonging here.

Not Pro-Choice and yet Not Pro-Life
Let my clarify this. Ethically speaking, I am Pro-Life in the fullest sense of the word, but I can't join the Pro-Life movement as it currently is, with all the political entanglement of a particular party. This is what I mean by not being Pro-Life. I don't wish to be identified with the Pro-Life movement in the US.

I see being Pro-Life as a holistic call against a culture of death. For this reason, I can in no good conscience get behind pro-gun rights (I don't see an issue in using guns for hunting, but open carry? I have an issue with that).

I can't get behind a Pro-Life movement so entangled with a particular party that encourages cuts in the budget towards health and education but never speaks of cutting the budget towards the military and security.

If we are truly Pro-Life, then the fact that as a nation we engage in wars every 30 years or so should be disturbing. If we are truly Pro-Life, we should by definition abolish the death penalty. A political platform that condemns abortion but upholds other forms of 'righteous' killing may be more accurately described as Pro-Birth, but never Pro-Life.

This doesn't mean I am Pro-Choice. Better said, I am not Pro-Abortion. I can't deny that abortion deals with the ending of a life. This alone disturbs me. We can argue all we want whether a fetus is a human being or not, but it would be disingenuous to deny that the fetus is alive.

I know that as a man, my opinions on this subject necessarily take the backseat. I recognize that I will never have to go through the excruciating experience of deciding whether to have an abortion or not. I want to acknowledge that my perspective is severely limited because of this, and I truly don't know fully what I'm talking about, nor will I ever.

At the same time, one forms opinions on matters whether one wants to or not, and my value of life prevents me from fully supporting abortion. I understand it is not always a black-and-white issue. I understand that in many situations there are subtleties that deserve our attention. But at the end of the day, after an abortion is performed, a life is lost.

Any loss of life should always grieve us.

As you can see, for these and many other reasons, I cannot fit into any particular conservative or liberal box. I don't belong to any of them.

The Gift of Not Belonging
I can take these realities and declare "woe is me!" but I won't. I want to embrace this reality as a gift from God.

This gift of perspective allows me to see blind spots that are ubiquitous in any given culture. It allows me to see from two different cultural lenses, and acknowledge the pros and cons of each position while not fully fitting into those boxes myself.

Not only that, but maybe this sensation of not belonging is the call of the Christian. Jesus declares that we are in the world and yet not of the world. He also proclaims that His Kingdom is not of this world, and yet the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, present in this world.

I am disturbed, therefore, at seeing the Church in the US being so shaped by culture wars and ideologies of our society. I see a church that conforms more and more with the polarizing views of our national politics, whether they be conservative or liberal.

I see a Church that mirrors the political polarization of this nation, instead of the unity we are called to in Christ. If the Church is so divided not only theologically, but also culturally and politically, can we truly say that it is living fully in Christ?

When we choose a side and defend it against the other side, we enter into a cultural bubble. Ideas formed in these bubbles will slowly develop apart from the perspective of the other. As time passes in this polarized nature and ideas on both sides continue to develop independently from each other, we are driven further and further apart.

Divisions are so aggravated that when the two opposing groups get to share their ideas with each other they are both met with disgust and disbelief. Polarization is a vicious cycle that feeds on itself. The two bubbles will grow in substantial size, and when they make contact with each other, they will burst into chaos.

Here is the thing: the Church is not called to be conservative or liberal. The Church is called to be Christ to the world. Christ did not belong to any particular party of His time. He was not a Pharisee. He was not a Sadducee. He was not a Zealot. He was not a Hellenistic Jew. Christ simply was and is.

I'm not saying that a Christian shouldn't belong to any particular party. What I am saying is that this belonging is only secondary to the call to belong to Christ. Belonging to a particular political party should never be seen as a prerequisite to belonging to Christ. To consider it otherwise would be pure idolatry. When we have denominations that identify first as either "traditional" or "affirming," and only secondly as Christ-centered, we have indeed allowed our faith to be shaped by our politics instead of the cross.

I believe that our root sin as a Church is nothing other than the idolatry of culture. Our call then, is not to be a conservative or a liberal Christ to the world. Our call is simply to be Christ to the world.

The Unholy Marriage of Conservative Politics and the Church

Photo by Leland Francisco

"Jesus answered, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world" - John 18:36 ESV.

"There are two great lies that I've heard: 'The day you eat of the fruit of that tree, you will surely not die,' and that Jesus was a white, middle-class republican, and if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like him." - A King and a Kingdom by Derek Webb.

The marriage of the political right in the US with Christianity frightens me to no end. This scary and unholy union has brought, in my opinion, a lot of misunderstanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

As we read the history of Christianity, we see how this little movement of Christians started by being at odds with the political system of the world. Jesus suffered persecution from the authorities of His day. The early Christians were heavily persecuted as well, and their faith, in many aspects, was a counter-cultural one.

Jesus Himself, as we see in the Gospel reading above, clearly declares that His kingdom does not originate from this world.

It is important to note how He contrasts the way the world would deal with His particular situation with the way He is choosing to deal with it: "If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews." Of course He doesn't call his disciples to resolve His situation as the world would because His kingdom "is not from the world."

As we see from the Scriptures then, the culture of the kingdom of God is in some ways in contrast to the kingdoms of the world. The way the world resolves issues (fighting, ruling it over others etc.) is not the way the kingdom of God resolves issues.

This contrast between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world must be acknowledged. Although we can and should be trying to conform our worldly political systems to reflect the kingdom of Heaven, whenever a union of these two forces is attempted (as we see countless times in the history of Christianity), we instead see a heavy and unholy distortion of the message of Jesus.

The Marriage Between the Political Right & Christianity
I've spoken extensively of how liberal Christians try to marry cultural liberal values with Christianity, and how it distorts the faith. Now I want to turn my attention to how conservative Christians do the same.

It was an interesting experience to see my twitter feed explode with pro-life articles on the anniversary of Roe vs Wade. No other day exemplifies this unholy union as this day.

Don't get me wrong, I am certainly not pro-choice. I believe all life is sacred, and I agree with Pope Francis when he says in the Joy of the Gospel that "It is not progressive to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life."

But I have no desire to join the pro-life movement as it currently is. On the anniversary of Roe vs Wade, my twitter feed was crowded with articles about this or that (mostly Republican) politician being pro-life and how they deserve our support.

On this and many other issues (like gay marriage, prayer in schools etc.) the underlying message is this: if you wish to become a faithful Christian, you must be a Republican. While it is true that many Christian will not say this directly (some will!), you still get the sense that to be a Christian is to vote Republican.

Is the Kingdom of God Republican?
When a marriage of a political ideology with the kingdom of God is attempted, many aspects of that particular political ideology, which at its source is not Christian, starts to slowly seep into Christian theology and practice to the point that it is normalized. To be Christian then becomes tantamount to being part of a particular political system.

This confusion of kingdoms gives birth to many blind spots in our culture, to the point that we need an outsider's voice, or a certain distance from our cultural perspective, to really see them.

Lack of Integrity in Pro-Life Politicians
To use the pro-life movement as a case in point: many, if not most, of those Republicans who are pro-life are also pro-guns. Guns are a weapon of violence and death. Guns are a weapon for fighting. Can we claim with integrity that weapons are pro-life?

Many of these Republicans are also against many welfare programs that help the poor in our nation, including the recently born. This creates a sense of social Darwinism (social survival of the fittest) and meritocracy, where the poor are seen as unworthy of that help (it is their fault that they are poor) and that it is not fair to give something to someone who hasn't earned it.

First, isn't it ironic that the most fervent opponents of evolution also push the ideology of social Darwinism?

Secondly, the ideology of meritocracy goes against our concept of Grace. Who is good enough to receive the gifts of God? Who is good enough to earn His grace? It is true that love seeks to improve the character of individuals, but it is also the nature of love to give to those whom we deem as unworthy.

Both are not mutually exclusive. Don't buy into this false dichotomy.

Also, many of these conservative politicians support big spending on the military. We spend over 60% of our national budget on the military. Only 6% of our budget goes to education.

These politicians seem bent on presenting the US as a strong nation that will not be messed with by showing our military might to the world. They are also more likely to present the "other" as the enemy. Ted Cruz, for example, recently mentioned the need to "carpet bomb" ISIS.

If Jesus was president, would He carpet bomb His enemies? Love of one's enemy takes second place (or less) and becomes a romantic and naive idea to our real need for security. Notice how the world solves problems by fighting, and how these politicians push the US to deal with these issues by fighting.

Many of these "pro-life" politicians also refuse to let any Syrian Muslim refugees into this country, for fear that they will turn out to be terrorists. Again, our need for personal security takes priority over our call to love our "enemies."

And don't get me started on immigration. In these and in many issues, Scripture's call to treat the foreigner as our own and to show hospitality to strangers is drowned out by the world's call to protect ourselves and our way of living.

These illegals broke the law, they say, and for that reason alone they are not worthy of our welcome. It is true that many committed a civil offense when they crossed the border illegally, but I am thankful that Jesus doesn't use the same rigid prerequisites to welcome us into the Father's home as the world would! Forgiveness and other forms of retribution to repay this civil offense (outside of deportation to violent and unstable birth countries) seem oddly out of the question for many of these politicians.

The Way of the Kingdom of God: The Cross
You see, the way of the kingdom of God is risky. It is not safe. It makes no sense for politicians to adopt the way of Jesus which ultimately leads to the cross. But thank God! We are called to follow the way of the cross, and not the way of self protection! We are called to leave behind the world's call to security and to follow the call of Jesus to the cross. We are called to lose our lives in order to gain them!

No politician can preach the extremely risky way of the cross and still win votes. And this is why the union between our politics with our faith will always lead to a false Jesus: a Jesus who is of this world.

No political party will ever represent fully the kingdom of Heaven. If it did, then the kingdom of God would be of this world.

Who do you choose to follow? Who do you decide to pledge allegiance to? For me, I will pledge allegiance not to politics, but to a King and a Kingdom.

The Importance of Focus: The Inner-Life and Ministry

"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" Mathew 6:33 ESV.

My wife and I just moved to a cozy  little apartment in the middle of East Oakland. The entrance to the apartment's parking lot at the back is anything but ideal.

It's very narrow, and our trusty old van Biscuit (yes, we name our cars, don't judge us) can barely fit through the entrance.

The first time we drove Biscuit through this narrow way was a very unnerving and intimidating experience. We drove through it at a snail pace, making sure we didn't leave our side mirrors at the gates.

There is no way we are doing this everyday I thought.

At one point, Biscuit got stuck in the stair's metal handrail, one of the many obstacles that you go through when you enter our parking lot. Poor old Biscuit got stuck in such a way, that no matter if you pulled back or kept going forward, she would endure permanent damage.

After a few months of practice we got very efficient in getting in and out of our parking lot. At this point, we don't really worry about scratching Biscuit.

The trick to getting out of our parking lot damage-free is easy: focus on one side, and the rest will take care of itself.

I eventually learned the exact distance the side mirror needs to be on my left side from the stair's handrails, and as long as I kept that distance (and kept my eyes focused on it) Biscuit would fit right in.

As it is with Biscuit, So it is with Everything Else
I believe Biscuit has taught me an important lesson in life: many times it just requires that we focus on one important thing, and everything else will fall into place.

Much has been said about our ability, or rather our inability to multitask. Despite what we millennials try to do with our laptops on our laps, phone on right hand, tablet on our left, while playing an episode of Parks & Recs on Netflix at the T.V., we suck at multitasking.

I think this is one of the reasons Jesus told us to seek first the Kingdom of God, knowing full well our propensity to juggle many things at the same time, however benevolent they might be.

As Christians and as ministers, we are tempted to seek first our ministry, our service, our congregations and its growth, or whatever else occupies our mind and time, and we do so with a martyr mentality of sacrificing for the Kingdom of God.

I don't think that's what Jesus meant when He told us to seek first the Kingdom.

In the end, our pursuit of ministry, work or deeds, can keep us from being single minded on the Kingdom.

It is not as if we should focus on the Kingdom at the expense of our work. What Jesus is saying is this: focus on my Kingdom; on my saving and loving presence, in my life in you and in the world, and everything else, ministry, work, deeds, passions, dreams will be added to you.

Put Him at the center of your vehicle, and all the wheels will fall into balance.

Doing Vs. Being
I believe this is part of the same principle I described in the second lesson I learned in 2015.

Most of us (if not all of us) have a desire to do great things. Whether that be doing great things in our ministry, our work, or whatever our dreams and passions are, we desire to do something that we are proud of.

I'm starting to believe, however, that this is the wrong focus. This focus runs the danger of making us self-centered, or thinking that we are more important than we really are.

Like I shared in my last post, maybe God is not too impressed with our marvelous deeds.

By focusing on being, and shifting our focus from our deeds to the quality of our inner-life, then we are empowered to work alongside with God and others to do some serious Kingdom work.

This focus on being, or the quality of our-inner life should not be confused with self-focus or self centeredness. Paradoxically, I believe that focusing on our outer-life is what makes us self-centered.

If you are able to focus on your inner life, this should result in selflessness. It is only by knowing who you are in Christ, and in nurturing His life in you, and the constant renewal of your mind to the mind of Christ, that you can go out into the world and act from the quality of your being.

Ministry flows out of being, not the other way around.

Art and The Kingdom of God

We are made in God's image.

We have heard this countless times, but what does it really mean? I think it means many things, and that this phrase is actually a deep well of truth from which we can draw out many interpretations.

One way I look at this image-bearing is our capacity to imitate the Creator by creating. When God created the heaven and the earth he declared it "very good." Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God's "workmanship," from the Greek word poeima, from which we derive the word "poem" in English. God's workmanship is so beautiful that it inspired our modern English word for "poem." Think about that for a minute.

To most of us, the overwhelming beauty of creation is undeniable. God is an artist. God's meticulous work of art is displayed lavishly in nature, animals, and humans. Art is sacred, artistry a sacrament. We are God's living art pieces.

We are endowed with God's beauty. The whole of creation proclaims God's beauty and glory. What we see reflected in us and in all created things is merely a reflection of God's beauty. We catch a glimpse of this Beauty of beauties whenever we contemplate a sunset, the graceful strides of a gazelle, or the beauty of the human body.

We are beautiful because He is beautiful. We are glorious because He is glorious. As the psalmist proclaims, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."

When artists create art they are imitating God. I believe this is part of what it means to be created in God's image.

Our Call to Create
We are called to create things that are "very good." We are called to reflect God's beauty to the world in our everyday work. Whatever we are called to do, whether it is sweeping the streets, working behind the desk in an office, or writing a striking musical piece, we are called to create art.

Unfortunately, many of us, including many followers of Jesus, have lost sight of this calling.

This struck me as I was listening to Mozart's requiem. To think that this sort of musical masterpiece could be used for liturgy was mind blowing. To compare Mozart's requiem to what passes as Christian music when you tune in to your local Christian radio is certainly discouraging.

The way the Christian music industry imitates it's capitalist counterpart, secular media, where catchy and recycled lyrics rule the radio waves, instead of imitating God's beautiful creation is certainly a tragic miss of our calling as artists.

What we hear during worship on Sundays is very different from what Mozart and Beethoven created. I'm not suggesting that we ditch contemporary worship in favor of classical music in our liturgies. What I am suggesting is that whatever we do, especially for God's Kingdom, must express Kingdom values, not capitalistic ones.

Mozart's requiem and Beethoven's missa solemnis are enjoyed and their beauty is recognized by many people, Christians and non-Christians alike. They intuit the Workmanship that these artists invested in their masterpieces, and their beauty is discernible to all.

On the other hand, a non-Christian who listens to the Top-40 hits on our local Christian station can find the experience distressing.

It is time for us followers of Jesus to regain our rightful place as artists, and start walking into those good works that God prepared beforehand for us, as Ephesians 2:10 encourages us to do.

Photo by Lawrence OP

Our Workmanship Should Reflect the Kingdom's Values
As both artists and followers of Jesus, however, we should make sure that our art reflects the Kingdom's values.

The art we create must be available to all, especially to the poor and disenfranchised. Art is human, and should not be reserved to a niche group of people who feel entitled and educated enough to appreciate it. This means that its beauty should be accessible and discernible to all, unlike many modern pieces that, while artful, feel inaccessible because of their abstractness and even bizarreness.

Also, the art we create must reflect the humility of the artist. This is another aspect of accessibility. I have noticed in our culture that educated and artistically-inclined people are filled with the obnoxious air of pompous snobbery. From the face of disgust when you ask a barista in the local artisan coffee shop for a "decaf" to the haughtiness of the well-dressed businessman sharing an elevator ride with someone wearing dress pants and tennis shoes. All of these attitudes should be avoided in the character and art of the follower of Jesus, however educated and tasteful he or she considers themselves to be.

Finally, the art must reflect God's beauty. Look at creation - it is overflowing with beauty. While anger and sadness can be expressed in art, even "negative" emotions must reflect the beauty that is in the created order. Christian art should not be used as many instances of modern art are: for simple shock value, in which an artistic work is purposefully ungraceful and terrifying just for the sake of controversy.

Would you agree with this criteria? Would you add any other value? Please share in the comments below!

The Root Sin of Christian Conservatism and Liberalism

This is an issue that has been brewing in my mind, one of which I am unmistakably passionate about. It is an issue that causes lots of disappointment and distress in my dealings with Christianity as a religion.

I am talking, of course, of the polarity of Christianity in the United States, where parties seem to gather around a political spectrum that, while influenced by Christianity, it is nonetheless unChristian.

From this polarity emerges the oddity of western Christianity and its many manifestation that are normally categorized as "Conservative Christianity", "Moderate Christianity" and finally "Liberal Christianity".

These 3 parties of Christianity seem to be at odd with each other, with endless rhetorical riots directed at each other, schisms and a good measure of tribalism to go along the way.

The irony of the matter is that they all are equally guilty of the same sin: adapting and ultimately confusing, Christianity with culture. It is idolatry, pure and simple. Christianity is constantly being sacrificed to the gods of our culture.

Profiles of Conservative, Moderate and Liberal Christianity

These descriptions are going to be caricatured to make a point, and I understand that most individuals don't fit neatly into any of these three categories, but more likely than not, have a share of these three profiles.

It seems to me that to be a "good conservative Christian" one must adhere to a package of beliefs that are far from Christianity: patriotism and patriarchy, nationalism and the support of wars, the defense of our borders, and the right to bear arms. Love of Jesus is proclaimed in one breath, and nationalistic and xenophobic proclamations at the next, all with the most comical and tragic ignorance to the contradictions.

The Kingdom of God in conservative Christianity is about "saving souls from damnation" and evangelism takes center stage. Social justice issues are often ignored.

To be a moderate Christian is simply to choose a middle of the way road, an almost uncompromising stance on issues, and cherry picking from both conservative and liberal values. The moderate Christian views the commitment of both conservatives and liberals as pure "fanaticism" and is repulsed by their passions. Lukewarmness is the rule of the faith.

The Kingdom of God for moderates is about "live and let other lives, do no harm to others and mind your own darn business, we are here to have a good time and God wants us to enjoy our lives, so chill"

To be a "good liberal Christian" there is also a good and intimidating long lists of issues: you must fight for social justice, care for the poor (while at the same time creating a lifestyle that leaves no space for the poor in their lives), creeds and dogmas are at best softened or at worst disregarded as "superstitious" and "medieval". Evangelism is neglected, and what I like to call "the idolatry of justice" is prevalent. To be a liberal Christian is simply to be an activist with some religious language and practices. There is an almost desperate need to transform Christian values and ethics in a way that conform almost perfectly with progressive values and ethics.

The Kingdom of God in liberal Christianity is about "transforming our world around us and bring about the Kingdom through social and political reform".

The problems with these parties of Christianity are manifold. The biggest issue is how much these parties align with our political values. Christianity then, is heavily compromised and adapted by the culture you feel most comfortable with.

The Answer: The Gospel and the Kingdom of God

My question is: Where is the Kingdom of God in all of this? Where does the culture and values of the Kingdom of God enter in? Is the Kingdom of God Democrat or Republican?

I am going to use a Scripture passage that conservatives love to use against liberals, even though they are just as guilty of it themselves:

[Jhn 18:36 ESV] 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."

The Kingdom of God is "not of this world". As New Testament scholar N. T. Wright has pointed out, the best translation would be "My kingdom is not from this world". The Kingdom of God does not originate from this world, with all the diverse cultures and political values, beautiful as they might be.

Whenever we see the "Kingdom of God" being modeled by values of a particular political system, then it stops being the Kingdom of God and it starts being something from this world, with some religious values added to it for good measure.

This is not to say that the Kingdom of God is apolitical. If anything, it is extremely political. Otherwise, why would Jesus use political language to describe it?

What it is, however, is a culture not to replace all cultures, but by definition, a "counterculture" that is at times (but not always) in contradiction to our collective cultures. The Kingdom of God will never cease to be counter cultural. It is an endless revolution, and this revolution will one day be firmly and permanently installed at Jesus' return.

If the Gospel is not continually challenging conservative, moderate and liberal cultures and values, then it is no longer the Gospel. Making our values and culture bed partners to the Gospel is nothing short of idolatry.

Yes, Kingdom values sometimes resemble conservative and liberal values, but they do not originate from them.

We should care for the poor and social justice because we are Christians, and Christ cares for those things, not because we are liberals or progressives. We should care and do Evangelism because we are Christians, and believe Jesus is such a wonderful person that we can't help but share it with others, not because we are conservatives and duty bound to save others from hell. We believe the creeds, in Christ's incarnation, atoning death, and bodily resurrection not because we are conservative fanatics and irrational, medieval or spiritual neanderthals, but because we trust the witness of those who died to communicate this faith.

It is time for Christians to stand up and become what we are called to be: little Christs, imitators of Him, who offended both conservatives, lukewarms and liberals, and was at the same time attractive to them all.

It is time for us to die to ourselves: to our values and cultures, and be reborn to the counter cultural, always revolutionary, ancient and yet ever new, Kingdom of God.