!Peace
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agk's diary 
13 December 2022 @ 05:13 UTC
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written on Dell Latitude ES470 via PuTTY 
in back bedroom with throat coat tea as Evy coughs
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Christian advent's a season to expect new light in
hopeless dark, new life somewhere unexpected---born
a traveler not under its own government. I expect-
antly wait, watch. Maybe I can help prepare the way
of the Lord.

Peace is week two. It's hard not to leap on my pro-
phetic soapbox, loudly condemn violent gangsterism
that demolishes countries, uses the wildernesses
created to run the world's biggest rackets.

In Bibles passed down by the church, Jesus and
epistle writers don't critique Roman adventures
like maybe Zealots did. Maybe Mark's story of Jesus
casting out demons "Legion" into pigs is @Rome? I 
don't know---maybe Rome in our heads; the cop,
drone pilot, propagandist, commando in our hearts.

"Peace," Jesus and the epistle writers wished each
other often. "...in your heart, ...in your church."
After the Christmas eruption of "peace on earth,"
trumpets quieted and peace became small, local.

Christ & his guys didn't abandon all global gospel.
They proclaimed a return of the Jubilee year! All
debt forgiven!

For peace, all I have this year is this: "Love the
outsiders; pray for those who try to do you in." 
The Kingdom of God isn't here yet. Christians only
have scrounged virtues, nurtured in Christian comm-
unity, against accomodation and Constantinianism.

The certitude of salvation that propelled demon-
hordes of Cossacks, Crusaders, and Conquistadors 
deep into the blood of animists, Jews, Catholics,
Orthodox, Protestants, and Muslims was Roman not
Christian. "Legion," sadly, lives.

To Christians this Advent in trenches & command
centers, firing artillery & procuring it, piloting
drones & making, shipping them, reducing God's
children to cockroaches via propaganda & financing
it all, I wish I could write with epistles' power
of shared mission letters beginning, "Peace,
brother, peace."