An Advent of Resistance...

In 2003, I was part of the Irish anti-war movement, working with several groups to build resistance to the US and UK ramp-up for war, as well as the toxic racism that was erupting against Muslim citizens (actually, against anyone vaguely of brown complexion) of Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

Two highlights from that time stand out in my memory:

one was giving a press conference With Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, one of the bravest, most down-to-Earth and loveable people I’ve ever met. The two of us sitting at a table in a conference room at the Linen Hall Library facing the world’s media, I just assumed that she would do most of the talking.

‘Ach no, love. You read the statement. You speak so well.’ Astonishing…

The second memory is of the global day of protests against the war on 15 February. In Belfast, we had between 10,000 and 20,000 on the streets. I’d never been in a crowd that big in my life before that, and it was truly exhilarating. Belfast is a delicate place, full of sectarian and political divisions that make every issue a minefield. But there was support for the march across the communities and politicians from various parties who would never be caught dead standing next to each other managed it on that day.

Again, it was astonishing…

Behind that extraordinary day were weeks of preparation and planning, which most of the people who turned up didn’t see and weren’t a part of. Ironically, that might have been part of the reason so many marchers that day were so let down when Bush and Blair went ahead and had a war anyway.

On the day that the bombing campaign began on 20 March, we held a vigil in front of Belfast City Hall. There was a miniscule fraction of the numbers we’d had back in February- a few dozen at most.

In the face of that level of violent power, it’s hard to keep going, particularly when you’ve given so much of yourself in terms of time and effort, and violent power simply ignores you and keeps going…

The 15 February rally wasn’t going to stop the war; the only thing that would have done that was a general strike- nobody goes to work, nobody goes to school, nobody pays their rates, everybody just stops everything until our demands are met.

If you want to stop a war, make it impossible for the state to have a war. 

Very few people out on 15 February were ready to do that, and needless to say, there wasn’t consensus within the anti-war movement to do it. Even if there had been, it would’ve been nearly impossible. 

But one truth underlies both the success of anti-war movement on 15 February and the disappointments of the Iraq invasion:

Resistance is a lot of work.

If you want to put together a real resistance- one that actually affects change upon an integrated system, a system that has been running for a long time and has become self-perpetuating- you’re going to need to have organization, preparation, and dedication. 

Resistance is a lot of work. Ask the people behind the abolition of the North Atlantic slave trade, the US Civil Rights Movement, or anyone who resisted a war.

Ask the people in the 80s and 90s trying to wake people up to the AIDS epidemic.

Ask the people behind Stop The War, Occupy, MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and Standing Rock.

Resistance is a lot of work.

It’s a lot of long meetings, delegating responsibilities, phone calls and following up on phone calls…

It’s planning what to do when you know that you’re going to have dozens of colleagues being arrested,  finding out where they’re being held, finding out what the exact charge against them is, finding out their bail conditions, arranging lawyers…

Resistance is a lot of work…

And it’s very often done in the face of people trying to stop you with seemingly-unlimited resources and power…

You will need to cultivate in yourself and your movement a healthy balance of optimism and realism. The desire is there, the vision is there, but the thing itself is not yet born.

So you prepare. You prepare yourself and your movement.

And in the face of an entrenched status quo- deep-seated racism, embedded inequality, rampant consumerism, apathy, self-centered politics- it can be hard to keep going…

You hope. And you work…

Today is the first Sunday of the Christian season of Advent. It is the season that I think more than any other speaks to this reality.

If you’re not a Christian, or you’re part of a Christian tradition that doesn’t closely follow the liturgical year, Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning ‘arrival’ or ‘coming’) is the season that precedes Christmas in the Christian liturgical year. It begins on the first Sunday after the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle (30 November) and continues until the 24th of December.

It serves as a time of preparation and reflection. Advent traditions involve the lighting of candles on each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, usually in church but also in the home. Similar to the season of Lent which leads up to Easter, Advent is also a traditional time of fasting, self-examination, and prayer.

Reflections during Advent often draw on the biblical texts from the long centuries before the birth of Christ.

It is a time to remember the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures that tell of the eventual coming of God’s messiah.

It is a time to reflect on the coming invasion of God into his creation.

Ultimately, Advent prepares us for Christmas, the celebration of the incarnation, 

‘God with us’.

The incarnation- God’s presence and action in human history regardless of circumstance- is the central theme of the ancient Hebrew prophets. No matter what was going on-

invading armies, corrupt officials, unjust structures, inhumane systems, the devaluing of human life and human goodness-

the prophets asserted that God was not blind, nor did he sleep.

God’s Messiah would come, and all would be put right:

And it would not be put right in some mystical, fantastic reality beyond this world;

It would be put right here, now, in history, in time.  

Advent is preparing for the good work of God when God and goodness seem far off.

On the first Sunday of Advent, we read from the ancient Hebrew prophet Isaiah:

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
They lived in a land of shadows,
but now light is shining on them.

You have given them great joy, Lord;
you have made them happy.
They rejoice in what you have done,
as people rejoice when they harvest grain
or when they divide captured wealth.
For you have broken the yoke that burdened them
and the rod that beat their shoulders.
You have defeated the nation
that oppressed and exploited your people,
just as you defeated the army of Midian long ago.
The boots of the invading army
and all their bloodstained clothing
will be destroyed by fire.
A child is born to us!
A son is given to us!
And he will be our ruler.
He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,”
“Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,”
“Prince of Peace.”

God had revealed himself as the God of life and liberation; 

Thus, the Christian liturgical year begins by putting the world on notice that we await liberation and transformation-

Not just of hearts, minds, and souls, but of historical conditions;

Of structures, of hierarchies, of the status quo.

With the coming of the messiah, the prophets declared, nothing can- or will- remain as it is.

For the poor, the marginalized, the disenfranchised, and the oppressed, this is good news;

For the wealthy, the influential, the disenfranchising, and the oppressors, this is a warning…

This is the radical Advent, an Advent of Resistance.

And those who hold to this spirit of liberation and transformation are a radical ‘Advent people’.

This is why it would be such a mistake to see Advent in only spiritual terms. Though for centuries, religious and political structures colluded to assure us that misery on Earth was a prelude to a glorious heaven.

The world has rightly risen in protest against such sentimental piety.

The ‘Advent people’ cultivate hope- for peace, for justice, for equity, for equality.

The ‘Advent people’ prepare for what is coming- for who is coming…

The ‘Advent people’ proclaim that, yes, we have walked in darkness;

Darkness of violence, war, oppression, injustice…

But we have seen a great light.

And that light will light our resistance…