When I was a teen I misspelled New Year’s Resolutions as New Year’s Revolutions in my diary. The things I was calling revolutions back in 1996 were hardly revolutionary. There was probably some self-depricating allusion to taming my triangular-shaped hairstyle or a star-struck vow to FIND Jonathan Taylor Thomas and WOO him with all my triangular-haired might.

Of course, we’ve all come a long way since 1996. My own learning curve has been steep, and has only gotten steeper the older I’ve gotten, which would have sh-sh-shocked teen Kim to the core. This year I propose we all adopt New Years Revolutions instead of resolutions. Why? Because Resolutions are okay and sometimes pan out for a few months, but revolutions are useful, can affect change, and evoke cool imagery. And revolutionaries are complex and fascinating people who push against dominant social narratives and topple unjust systems.

You can choose your own revolutionary inspiration, of course, but I’m going to follow the lead of my favorite radical revolutionary, Jesus Christ. What did you expect? This is my blog about going to seminary. Of course it was gonna be about Jesus.

Here’s my revolution for 2020: Subvert Empire.

“Empire seeks to extend it’s control as far as possible, beyond the commonly recognized geographical, political, and economic spheres, to include the intellectural, emotional, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and religious arenas. The problem with empire is, therefore, that no one can escape it’s force field completely.” Joerg Reiger, Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classic Theologians

The world Jesus lived in was an occupied one, and his teachings reflect this. Unfortunately, as Christianity spread and became The Official Religion of the Roman Empire™ the interconnectedness with colonialism became impossible to separate. That doesn’t mean we are stuck with it, however. While the road to overturning all imperialism, including and especially that done under a Christian banner, is daunting, there are small actions that can chip away at it, bit by bit.

My revolution this year is to look up whose land I am on whenever I travel, make acknowlegement of it, and then donate to organizations that are working toward restoring indigenous land, or local advocacy groups protecting sacred sites. (Please leave comments with info of organizations that would be great to give to! Thanks in advance!)

What revolutions will you be up to in 2020? I hope your new year is truly, radically, revolutionary.