John 10:1-10, Psalm 23, Acts 2:42-47
What is the Reign (Kingdom) of God like? When Christ comes again in glory, what do we expect that eschatological future to hold? What do we imagine God’s paradise is like, in which Jesus, the Lamb of God, is finally enthroned as eternal Ruler? And, for the purposes of this blog, do we imagine that there are police or prisons in God’s dominion of heaven?
Jesus points us toward the Rule and Reign of God throughout his earthly ministry, preaching about it not only as a future reality, but a present one (e.g., Mark 1:15; Luke 17:21). This Sunday’s scripture passages never use the phrase “kingdom of God” but they each point to that reality in their own way.
In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” The second sentence is quite famous, but abundant life is presented as a direct contrast to stealing, killing, and destroying. These are the properties of all the tendrils of the prison-industrial complex. Police and prisons do not fundamentally exist to keep people safe, but to maintain a status quo social order that is unequal in race, socio-economics, gender, sex, and more. The criminal-legal system is designed to steal, kill, and destroy people’s lives toward those ends. Even when the individuals involved wish for better outcomes, the system is rigged. It does not pursue abundant life.
The abundant life that Jesus calls us to is like the world of the early church in Acts 2:42-47. As this community shared in God’s Word and Sacraments, they also shared possessions and goods for the wellbeing of all. They cared for all so that none were in need. Even if Acts’ idyllic depiction was a very short-lived historical reality, the point remains that this is the dream for how Jesus-followers will live. Similarly, Psalm 23 imagines God providing peace and reconciliation with one’s enemies. The godly will share tables and break bread even with those who have trespassed against them. In such a world, there are no prisons because there is no need for prisons.
People may call this an unrealistic dream, but it’s hard to argue that it isn’t God’s dream for the world. And again, it isn’t just God’s dream for a far-off future. The Reign of God is “already, but not yet.” It is both a thing we pray and hope for God to realize when Christ comes to judge the earth and a goal for our human communities, as modeled by the church in Acts 2. If we truly believe that God desires abundant life for creation, we must reject all systems that steal, destroy, and kill, including police and prisons.
The Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda is the rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Savannah, GA, and the Missioner for Racial Justice of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.