What Exile?

These things that have comforted me, I drive away
This place that is my home I cannot stay
My only faith's in the broken bones and bruises I display
Bruce Springsteen – in ‘The Wrestler’


There is often much discussion of ‘exile’ in theological circles. I just finished reading and enjoying Rob Bell and Don Golden’s book “Jesus wants to Save Christians.” It discusses the importance of remembering the exodus God has given us from our imprisonment to the empire of sin, violence and death. It talks about the Israelites and their disobedience when they had all the power of an empire under Solomon – and their resultant exile under Babylon’s rule in order to bring them back into dependence on God and an understanding of the blessing they had been given and what God desired for them to use that blessing for.

In the book there is much talk of empire – a worldly empire of violence, sin and death (Bell 57) and also of 2 modes of existence as defined by Paul: “the body of Sin and the body of Christ.” (Bell 105) It is discussed how people who ultimately believe in the prevailing empire use the power they have in order to promote themselves, and further their influence and then grow what they feel they are entitled to. God desires for people to use their power to help those who most need it. When God wanted to show Solomon and company that they were misusing the power they had been blessed with – he put them in exile into Babylon – away from any source of power of their own.

They had forgotten their story – the story of exodus and of God’s compassionate reaching out to them when they most needed it in order that they would do that for others. Many theologians discuss how the Church today is in some sort of exile. Part of the reasoning that prompted this post was examining the exile discussion in this Rob Bell book and thinking about other discussions of exile that I have heard about and whether or not I see a lack of worldly ‘power’ or empire influence in the church or a lack of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit working in the world.

The most vivid picture of exile that I have seen recently is that of Randy the Ram in the ‘The Wrestler.’ Mickey Rourke did a fantastic job of portraying a man who was exiled from his home and his family. This was an exile that happened because of his choices in the use of power – he chose to use his power to satisfy himself and to increase his reign and his entitlement. However, again the exile that he experienced was one truly of pain – of visible separation from the prevailing culture.

But I ask – where is the exile of the church (ala Israel into Babylon or in Egypt) if there has been no removal from physical blessing (and empire power) in North America? Or more aptly how does the current exile parallel that of the Israelites?

Could it be – in North America – it as though some parts of the body of Christ and some Christians have bought so whole-heartedly into the prevailing empire of consumption that God has allowed their OWN corrupted system of power to be Babylon in their lives – or at least definitely in my life! It would be as if, seeing the sin of Solomon – his building of military might and the big-headed centralization of his power to further his own purposes rather than help those in need, God just allowed the Israelites all to be consumed by this as it ran its course. Obviously, this isn’t an exile from earthly, or worldly physical power for the Israelites – but what it IS is an exile from the power to be able to do the work of showing God’s love and compassion by helping others most effectively. This is because the body of people is too tied up in their own selfish pressures.

Maybe I am wandering a bit here but the problem is, at the lowest level, I have so forgotten the story of my exodus, the cause of my redemption, and the ‘way’ that I travel from the one reality of the body of Sin to the reality of the body of Christ – I have so forgotten this story – that it could be as though I am in exile - exile from being able to live out this compassionate powerful love of God – exile in this Babylon of North American consumer culture. Thankfully, the ‘way’ of Christ is STILL there to be walked. Just as the prophets spoke – the universal sacrifice and way out of exile has been provided – I just need to begin to remember the story of how I was redeemed and make it central to everything that I do in order to live with that power!

What I ask now is how is it that I should begin to remember my exodus? More importantly, Lord, how shall I begin to cause my memory of that exodus to prophecy truth of the power of the body of Christ into my life? Bell and Golden suggest that the Israelites were instructed to remember by remembering the poor, by giving unconditionally, and by extending grace (Bell 162).

I know that you work in power Lord all over the world and I pray that somehow I would begin to fully remember, to use the power you have made available in order to bless the weakest of those with whom I interact – to show them your love not after I’ve claimed my own entitlement – but to realize that everything is yours and is given to me simply for the purpose of giving to others.

Please forgive me for forgetting the story of my own journey through the desert to the New Jerusalem even as it is still unfolding! And anyone reading this post your thoughts and the ways that you remember your exodus story.



Rob Bell and Don Golden, Jesus Wants to Save Christians (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008)