I am a "Trekkie." I openly admit it. There are several reasons why I like Star Trek in its many permutations -- but the one I offer here is that Gene Roddenberry and his Star Trek cohorts and actors dreamed of an existence where all people on earth were together as one. Star Trek has always had a social conscience.
Many of the difficult issues of our time have become main episodic themes. Star Trek tackled racial tensions and provided us with the first interracial kiss on television. They wrote an episode about government determining sexual orientation. The "Prime Directive" stated that they crews of the ships could not influence cultures with which they came into contact by any means. It is a doctrine that affirms self-determination. Finally, the various Enterprises, Voyagers and the like were built for exploration and not war. Oh, they had capabilities to defend themselves and inflict casualties but they always preferred diplomacy. They lived on an earth that had done away with war and they dreamed of a peaceful galaxy.
As we experience Memorial Day this weekend I hold out hope for an earth where there is no more war. As long as humans kill humans for national reasons the Kingdom of God will not have fully come. I should say I patently reject any apocalyptic verbiage that speaks of the coming of the Kingdom of God as a war. If Isaiah was correct then the Kingdom of God that is coming will be a Kingdom where swords are recycled into implements of food production; where even animal enemies live in peace.
This is the hope in which I live each day. This is the context of my ministry inside and outside the congregation. Memorial Day will remind us never to forget the sacrifices that have been made for our national cause, but the coming Kingdom of God will transcend all generations, all national boundaries and the practice of war. We don't refer to Jesus as the Prince of Peace because it makes us feel warm inside.
May peace prevail upon the earth.
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