[In the most recent newsletter from On Earth Peace, editor and TFC training associate Matt Guynn writes to radical Christians about the current situation in the US. Contributing writer Daniel Hunter, also a TFC associate, writes about the current political situation in the US empire and what activists need to consider in the face of the decline of the US empire.]

"He also said to the crowds, 'When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?" (Luke 12:54-56 NRSV)

Why do we not know how to interpret the present time? It seems as if many are more able to make cynical comments or baleful predictions of awful futures than to offer up useful wisdom about the times in which we live. As we grow in the Christian life, it's our responsibility to learn to be both innocent as doves (open-hearted and full of love) and wily as serpents (wise in the dynamics and realities of the world). One way to describe this pairing of "soft-heartedness" and "tough-mindedness" (to use Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, language) is reading the signs of the times.

Reading the signs of the times is a spiritual discipline that tries to shake off the lenses of the dominant culture in order to see whether or not the emperor is wearing clothes, a way to focus our sight. Lacking an intentional spiritual focusing, I believe we run the risk of seeing each other through the lenses provided by the dominant imperial culture. That culture would prefer us to be suspicious of those different from us and ready to kill to defend the nation-state. Reading the signs of the times allows us to see clearly through the fog of fear that surrounds us.

There is a certain rhetorical style found on both the left and the right, which fixates on wrongness. What is wrong with the world? What is wrong with my opponents? What is wrong with my denomination? This style is sometimes characterized by negative attacks and attitude, focusing overwhelmingly on the President and the Administration, or the liberals or gays or women, or the military-industrial-complex, or whoever your current favorite opponent is. The obvious next steps are to figure out how to diminish the impact of your opponents. It is fundamentally reactive thinking. Do you ever get snared in this kind of partisan wrongness-thinking?

Kairos, one of the words used for "time" in the New Testament, points toward an alternate perspective which stands out from "wrongness" thinking. Kairos is the word used when Jesus says in Mark 1, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news." Instead of wrongness, kairos focuses on ripeness - on what is coming to fullness in the present moment. I propose that seeking to understand what's ripe in a situation is a central way for Christians to understand the signs of the times.

What is ripe and ready for justice; what fruit is ready to be harvested; what can we glean? Carol Mason offered me this example in recent correspondence: "To me it is like looking at a vacant lot in the downtrodden area of town, and instead of saying, 'Oh, this place is so rundown and it is just going to the dogs,' someone says, 'This place looks ripe for a community garden'" - and then they join with the ripeness and make it happen! Kairos thinking asks, What are the opportunities for an inbreaking of grace, for justice-making, for creativity and bold initiative in the situation you are analyzing? What can I support and assist that is just about to come together? What is God doing, and how am I called as a partner?

Don't get me wrong - a reading of the kairos moment definitely acknowledges and understands what's wrong. To know what's ripe we also must name what's still green, or is already rotting - current attitudes, beliefs, or practices that are not of God, the places our communities or institutions are falling short of God's promises. We need to clearly understand and name the realities of the powers and principalities in our day.

But kairos thinking doesn't get fixated on the wrongness; it remembers also to look to the possibilities that are being born. What are the possibilities surrounding you and your community, just now?

Living in a kairos way means confessing faith in God, and striving to worship God instead of idols, which are things intentionally or unintentionally given allegiance with time, money, or other resources. Some favorite idols include comfort, family, the church, the nation state, "how we've always done things," efficiency, one's favorite social program. What idols do you see in your life right now?

May we all hone our kairos vision! Blessings on your eyes, your spirits, and your labors.

Matt Guynn,
program coordinator, Peace Witness
On Earth Peace