What strikes me most in your reflection is the subtle violence of absence, the kind we’ve suffered not only from the iron-fisted kings of history, but from the spiritual distortions that linger long after their crowns have rusted. Power that parades as invulnerability, masculinity stripped of mercy, holiness severed from humanity. These are not just failures of politics, but fractures of incarnation.
The mystery of the Gospel is not that God came as a King, but that he came as a body. And not even a radiant one, but a pierced one. In Christ, kingship is not abolished, but crucified and raised anew in the shape of a lamb. The throne becomes a tree. The crown, a braid of thorns. And the scepter, a nail driven through the wrist of God.
This is the most intimate of solidarities: the King who does not merely walk among the lampstands, but bleeds beside them. The Incarnate One stands not above us but within the muck and silence of our wounds. And from this shattered place, divine authority emerges not as coercion, but as communion. Not as decree, but as descent.
You are right Mark: the true scandal is not kingship, but the kind of kingship that still dares to carry the name of Christ without ever bending low enough to wash feet.
What if the final judgment is not a reckoning of power but of presence? Not how many knelt before us, but whether we ever knelt before the least. If Jesus is King, it is because He became least. That is the kingdom no tyrant can counterfeit. That is the reign that still burns behind the veil.
Thanks for weighing in, Steve, and I love the idea of a reckoning of presence as an understanding of final judgment. And in fact, maybe that's just what judgment is: a reckoning of loving presence! Hope you are well, have a great week.
The work you are doing to unscramble the conceptual language of the Bible is very, very important. Christianity has to evolve or it will die. At this moment, it is faltering, leaving room for the newest strangulation, Christian Nationalism. Please don't attach paid subscriptions to your work as raison d'etre for continuing to grind through the weariness. Not everyone can pay for everything Substack offers. But this is currently where we woke-folk come to know, learn, and move it forward. Thank you for your work.
Hi Naomi, thanks for your comment and for reading. I think I'm drawn to Revelation exactly because it has been so abused by Christian nationalists (and Christian Zionists, too). My comment at the bottom of this post is simply an expression of gratitude for those who choose to support paid subscriptions, but all my articles will continue to be free. Take good care!
What strikes me most in your reflection is the subtle violence of absence, the kind we’ve suffered not only from the iron-fisted kings of history, but from the spiritual distortions that linger long after their crowns have rusted. Power that parades as invulnerability, masculinity stripped of mercy, holiness severed from humanity. These are not just failures of politics, but fractures of incarnation.
The mystery of the Gospel is not that God came as a King, but that he came as a body. And not even a radiant one, but a pierced one. In Christ, kingship is not abolished, but crucified and raised anew in the shape of a lamb. The throne becomes a tree. The crown, a braid of thorns. And the scepter, a nail driven through the wrist of God.
This is the most intimate of solidarities: the King who does not merely walk among the lampstands, but bleeds beside them. The Incarnate One stands not above us but within the muck and silence of our wounds. And from this shattered place, divine authority emerges not as coercion, but as communion. Not as decree, but as descent.
You are right Mark: the true scandal is not kingship, but the kind of kingship that still dares to carry the name of Christ without ever bending low enough to wash feet.
What if the final judgment is not a reckoning of power but of presence? Not how many knelt before us, but whether we ever knelt before the least. If Jesus is King, it is because He became least. That is the kingdom no tyrant can counterfeit. That is the reign that still burns behind the veil.
Thanks for weighing in, Steve, and I love the idea of a reckoning of presence as an understanding of final judgment. And in fact, maybe that's just what judgment is: a reckoning of loving presence! Hope you are well, have a great week.
The work you are doing to unscramble the conceptual language of the Bible is very, very important. Christianity has to evolve or it will die. At this moment, it is faltering, leaving room for the newest strangulation, Christian Nationalism. Please don't attach paid subscriptions to your work as raison d'etre for continuing to grind through the weariness. Not everyone can pay for everything Substack offers. But this is currently where we woke-folk come to know, learn, and move it forward. Thank you for your work.
Hi Naomi, thanks for your comment and for reading. I think I'm drawn to Revelation exactly because it has been so abused by Christian nationalists (and Christian Zionists, too). My comment at the bottom of this post is simply an expression of gratitude for those who choose to support paid subscriptions, but all my articles will continue to be free. Take good care!
Jesus is the only king I need. Thanks for putting together scripture that reminds us of how his kingdom is different.
“We care about world,”
reads the rally sign they made.
Kindness is regal.
Yes!