Piotr Makowski / Unsplash
By the end of “Star Wars: A New Hope,” Luke Skywalker has successfully used the Force to save the Rebel base. Princess Leia has presented medals of bravery to Luke, Han Solo and Chewbacca for their heroic role in defeating the Empire. Released three years later, “The Empire Strikes Back” had a less triumphant tone. By the end of the movie, Imperial Forces had discovered the Rebel base. Darth Vader had frozen Han and given a bounty to Boba Fett to capture Luke.
In “A New Hope,” we see the Empire suffer a major setback. In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Darth Vader and the old regime are alive and well. The progress the Rebels made in the first movie was confronted by stiff resistance in the second.
As ministers and congregations bask in the afterglow of the resurrection, we should not miss the fact that there are ongoing social, political and, perhaps, spiritual activities that feel more like Good Friday. These are the moments when the church is called upon to act with renewed courage and conviction. It cannot be business as usual.
On April 29, 2026, in Louisiana v. Callais, the U.S. Supreme Court appears to have significantly weakened Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which could lay the groundwork for policies that look and feel more like the Jim Crow South than the Beloved Community. What should followers of Jesus do now?
Brilliant scholars like Ched Myers and the late Walter Brueggemann draw on New and Old Testament sources, respectively, to tell us that Christianity is made for moments like these. It’s not the time for handwringing or head-burying. It’s time for truth-telling. It’s time for fervent prayers. It’s time to stay engaged. This is not a movie. Let’s challenge our people to do more than sit back and watch.
Resources
Faithful people are called to deep politics, not cheap politics
The teachings of Jesus require us to engage in the work of justice. That is different from partisan politics, writes a peace activist.
By David LaMotte
Ensuring access to the polls is a sacred cause
A national coalition of faith organizations is working to protect the freedom to vote. Faiths United to Save Democracy is already geared up for this year’s elections.
By Adam Russell Taylor
The limits of hope and the promise of joy
In an excerpt from his new book, “Ancestors: Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us and Hold Us,” an AME pastor writes about the church as inherently political and why we cannot wait on God for change.
By William H. Lamar IV
What does it mean to follow Jesus in a divided America?
Our ultimate goal isn’t winning an argument or even an election but bringing healing to a suffering world, writes a journalist and author.
By Bekah McNeel
Christians have a responsibility to confront Christian nationalism
After congressional inaction, addressing Christian nationalism is now up to the American people, says an advocate for religious liberty.
By Amanda Tyler
Before you go
The church was not born in comfortable times. It was born in the shadow of a cross, in a locked upper room, in a city under occupation. And yet, Jesus rose. That same resurrection power is available to every congregation and every minister who refuses to surrender to despair. When voting rights are threatened, when the vulnerable are endangered, when the old regime reasserts itself with fresh confidence, we do not despair. We remember whose we are. We are Easter people living in a Good Friday world.
So preach with fire. Pray without ceasing. Show up at the courthouse and the statehouse. Register voters. Defend the vulnerable. Call injustice by its name. The Empire does not get the last word. It never has. It never will.
You can always reach me and the Alban Weekly team at alban@duke.edu. Until next week, keep leading!
Prince R. Rivers
Editor, Alban at Duke Divinity