When Empire Tightens Its Grip
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights…” — Isaiah 10:1–2
Empire has always demanded conformity. It punishes dissent. It rewards silence. And it cloaks its violence in the language of safety, order, and patriotism. What we are witnessing now—book bans, surveillance of students, suppression of protest, erasure of Black and brown histories, punishment of queer and trans voices, even threats against sovereign nations—is not chaos. It is coordinated. It is calculated. And it is cruel.
Empire wants us afraid. It wants us numb. It wants us to believe there is no alternative.
We see the signs. Just last week:
The Administration launched a deeply troubling attack on Columbia University, demanding the institution cede its autonomy to federal control. In a letter to university leadership, officials insisted Columbia shut down its Middle Eastern Studies Department, ban the wearing of masks, and expel students involved in pro-Palestinian protests. They threatened to withhold $400 million in federal funding unless the university complied—under the guise of addressing antisemitism. It appears today that Columbia will comply.1
This aggressive overreach culminated in ICE agents entering student housing and illegally detaining Mr. Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the U.S., while his pregnant wife watched helplessly. He was moved from facility to facility without clear explanation—his only apparent offense being the expression of views inconsistent with the Administration’s foreign policy. That such a justification could be given in a democracy is chilling.2
In a broader dismantling of public institutions, the Administration terminated half the staff of the Department of Education and signed an executive order to eliminate the agency altogether.3
Officials also reiterated intentions to dismantle Social Security—calling into question the future security of millions of Americans.4
Key government agencies continue to be defunded or gutted, including the NIH and offices like Voice of America, part of a larger pattern of deliberate erosion of our public infrastructure.5
International relations have taken an authoritarian turn as well. The Administration has escalated tariffs against Canada, floated rhetoric about annexing the country, and declared the EU was “created to screw the U.S.”6 They’ve also expelled South Africa’s Ambassador, continuing a disturbing trend of vilifying post-colonial nations while embracing revisionist, white supremacist narratives.
The President issued Executive Orders targeting legal professionals involved in cases against him—revoking security clearances and barring them from future government-related work. These actions strike at the heart of judicial independence.7
In court, the Administration is arguing for the removal of transgender service members from the military—threatening the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ Americans serving their country.8
It appears the administration has defied a court order and illegally deported people without due process to a Venezuelan prison.
And in a heartbreaking move, the Administration quietly scrubbed the Arlington National Cemetery website of stories honoring Black, Asian American, and women veterans—erasing their legacies from our national memory.9
The machinery of Empire is in full motion. It tells us what we’re allowed to say, who we’re allowed to defend, and which stories are permitted to be told. And when we push back, it tightens its grip.
But as people of faith, we are not called to conform. We are called to be transformed. We are called to stand as a holy counterforce—not soft and sentimental, but fierce and rooted. This is what love looks like in the face of empire: bold, clear, courageous. Not polite. Not performative. Protective.
When they came for the prophets, they came because the prophets refused to play along. When Jesus flipped the tables in the Temple, it wasn’t a tantrum—it was sacred defiance. When Harriet Tubman led people to freedom, she broke every law that empire had written. And she did it in the name of a higher law. A more ancient truth.
Archbishop Óscar Romero, who was assassinated while saying mass, said it plainly:
“A church that does not provoke any crises, a gospel that does not unsettle, a word of God that does not get under anyone’s skin—what gospel is that?”
If your heart is breaking, let it. That grief is holy. If you are exhausted, rest—but do not quit. The world needs your integrity, your imagination, your voice. Not everyone will approve. That’s not the goal. The goal is to protect what authoritarianism seeks to destroy: dignity, community, freedom, compassion, and the sacred worth of every human soul.
Empire is real—and it is dangerous. The Trump administration is a full-throated example. But we are not powerless. The antidote to empire is not apathy. It’s not despair. It’s not hate. It’s a defiant love that remembers who we are and refuses to let the powerful define what is true.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What are you being asked to protect right now—not in theory, but in real, tangible ways?
Where are you being tempted to conform, and what might it look like to resist with clarity and courage?
Who or what is sacred to you—and how might that love shape your response to empire?
A Prayer for the Day
For the Sacred We Must Protect
Holy One,
Make us bold in love.
Let our resistance rise from reverence.
Let our courage be rooted in care.
For the children and the elders,
For the land and the waters,
For the truth-tellers and the dreamers—
May we protect what is sacred,
even when it costs us.
Even when it breaks us open.
Even when it puts us at risk.
Let us be the kind of people
who cannot be bought or silenced.
Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Embodying Defiant Love
Begin this practice by finding a quiet space where you can sit or stand in stillness for a few minutes. Take three deep breaths, and as you exhale, gently say to yourself: I am here. I am whole. I am not alone. Now bring your attention to one part of your body—your hands, your heart, your back, your breath. Imagine this part of you as not only yours, but as belonging to a great lineage of people who have used their bodies in service of love, resistance, and courage. Say aloud or silently: This is not just my body; it is a vessel of love, of sacred defiance, of compassion made real. Let yourself feel the truth of that.
As you move through your day, notice how your body responds to the world around you. When do your shoulders tense? When does your breath become shallow? When does your heart race? These are signals—your body’s way of telling you that something matters. Rather than pushing those sensations away, let them become invitations. Ask, What am I being invited to care for? Where is love calling me to act or to rest? Your body can be your compass, especially when the world feels disorienting.
Finally, let this be a practice not of striving, but of steadying. You do not have to save the world on your own. You are one part of a greater whole. Defiant love can look like showing up to a protest, yes—but it can also look like walking your neighbor’s dog, calling your senator, reading to a child, or refusing to laugh at a cruel joke.
Small embodied acts, rooted in love and integrity, are how we build the kind of world empire can’t destroy. Let your body carry you there.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
March 25, 2025, 7-8:30pm - Dr. Matthew Fox and I are hosting a Lenten series that we are calling “From Darkness to Dawn: Spiritual Courage and Political Action in the Age of MAGA.” Our first session was with modern mystic, Mirabai Starr. Andrew Harvey was our second guest. The amazing Bishop Yvette Flunder was on March 18! Father Adam Bucko on March 25! REGISTER HERE! (recordings are available)
May 19-22, 2025 - Preaching and Worship FREE Online Summit: From war to genocide to a global climate crisis to a nation that perpetuates racism, misogyny, transphobia, and more from the highest office in the land, how do we prepare a sermon, a liturgy, a song, a prayer? Learn from some of our best preachers. REGISTER HERE.
June 4, 2025, 12pm ET - Jeff Chu has written a new book on a topic close to my heart: Soil! The title is “Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand.” I am so pleased to be interviewing him. Together, we’ll explore what it means to cultivate “good soil” in our lives, our communities, and our spiritual practices. I hope you will register. Your registration includes a copy of his new book.
July 20-25, 2025 - The Art of Wilding: A 5-Day Expedition in Wyoming for Women Leaders. Click here to learn more. Only one spot left!
August 11, 2025, 2pm ET - Dr. Andrew Root and I will be hosting a 6 part series on Spirituality in the Secular Age based on his research. The dates are August 11, 18, September 8, 15, and October 6, 13. Mark your calendars! More on this soon.
September 4, 4:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 15-18, 2025 - Converging 2025: Sing Truth Conference (all musicians invited!) at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, OH. Register here!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/21/columbia-university-funding-trump-demands
https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/court-rules-mahmoud-khalils-lawsuit-challenging-his-unlawful-detention-by-ice-should-move-forward-in-new-jersey
https://apnews.com/article/trump-dismantling-education-department-8b5d0961700f0fe69d18ea80b437c8b8
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/28/nx-s1-5296986/trump-worker-cuts-social-security-administration
https://apnews.com/article/voice-america-free-press-trump-lawsuit-lake-6c88792addbfd651d1d06b8705fd8e10
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/22/donald-trump-law-firms-threat-027250
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/while-trumps-trans-military-ban-is-challenged-in-court-long-serving-troops-prepare-for-whats-next
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz03gjnxe25o
Thank you, Cameron, for continuing to name what is true and calling us to grounded action.
It sounds like Germany before the second world war or south Africa (where I live) during apartheid
Thank God for Bishop Tutu, Bonhoeffer and others.