The Kingdom of Light(s)

The lights always shine in Las Vegas! When sun goes down, the casinos, restaurants, and concerts light up the sky. From the tractor beam of the Luxor to the Mediterranean sun of the Venetian, entertainers work hard to keep people awake and having fun. It’s a city of perpetual lights.

In a strange way, it reminds me of heaven. Thousands of people trying to have fun and stay awake for eternity. Maybe the desires that drive people to Las Vegas are the same longings that leave us wanting heaven. After all, who doesn’t hope they’re lucky enough to get within those pearly gates? Who doesn’t long for really great intimacy — with God, a spouse, or anyone who offers?

Christ was always saying, “The Kingdom of God is here,” and I think the people he hung out with would have fit-in well in Vegas. They seemed to like to eat, drink, and dance. At his social prime, everybody but the authorities seemed to like him — which means he must have been a celebrity.

If Jesus could say, “Heads-up, God’s Kingdom’s here,” to them, why couldn’t he say it to Vegas? What would it look like if he did? Would it be with lights and spectacle, or would it be quietly subversive? This is how I imagine his arrival to Vegas…

Given his track record, I imagine Christ as a homeless man, caught on film, artistically standing in front of the Belagio. He’d probably make the cover of Time like the woman with the green eyes. Then, reporters would track him down and interview him only to find out that he had graduated from a good liberal arts college but worked as a well respected mechanic before taking up residence on Flamingo Rd. He’d be an instant celebrity, but he wouldn’t give the media what it wanted. In the midst of the camera flashes, this homeless man would say unbelievable things, like “You don’t need to use so many lights. I AM the Vegas lights.” Then he’d take a step further by saying, “Some day these lights are going to go out and stay out. It’ll be days before they come back on; but, when they do, they’ll stay on forever!”

His last words would be the most challenging of all — challenging everyone’s schema of Sin City:

” Those lights will shine till the end of days, and Vegas will called in by a new name: City of Perpetual Light.”