In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. – Daniel 7:13

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 3, 2017): Daniel 7

The 2016 Presidential election in the United States is probably best summed up as a desperate attempt by the people to “speak truth to power.” The problem is that the act of speaking truth to power seldom happens without a revolution. In some ways, the Trump Presidency has been revolutionary – not because of Donald Trump, but because of the persistence of those who follow him. Donald Trump is not supposed to solve anything. He is to present the problem to the people who are elected to fix it. The big question is – “is anyone listening?” The answer is disturbing because it is a definitive “no.” The assumption in Washington D.C. seems to be that Trump is a necessary time out, but that things will go back to the way that they always have been by 2020, and maybe even by 2018. This fantasy that everything will return to normal is Donald Trump’s best hope for a second term. His followers are likely to scream to be heard even if it does mean electing the Donald again. The problem that everyone seems to be ignoring is a great gulf that exists between power and the average person in Western Society; and a canyon that exists between the rich and the poor. In almost every other societal example, this gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ has resulted in civil disobedience, rioting, and even war. With Donald Trump, we are uniquely presented with a ‘have’ (a billion times over) who is trusted by the ‘have nots’ to help them with their position in life. Trump’s words support that assumption, but this battle is going to be fought with more than just words.

The existential problem that exists between God and us is that he is more of a ‘have’ than Donald Trump, and we are more of a ‘have-not’ than we could ever imagine. Most of history seems to have been spent trying to get a message to God or the gods. This gap has led to several theories. Most prominent is the belief that God is a mighty God, but that he did his work and then stepped away, leaving us to fend for ourselves. In this belief, God is the prime mover, he started the ball rolling, but he is not the provider. He does not care for us. As a result, there are no miracles, everything that happens, happens because of the actions we undertake.  

Christians disagree. This deistic kind of God is not the Christian understanding of God. We recognize the existential problem; we understand that there really is no way for us as people to communicate with a God who is totally other. But we have Jesus who stands in the gap between God and us. He mediates for us, closing the distance that naturally exists between the Creator and the created.

Daniel did not intend this to be a Messianic passage, but for Christians, we have accepted it as one. “Son of Man” was one of Jesus favorite titles for himself. And Daniel’s “one like a son of man,” who approaches “the Ancient of Days” (read God) and is “led into his presence” fits our idea of the Messiah perfectly. This is who we see Jesus to be, the one like us who stands in the gulf that exists between God and us, and communicates both in a way that we can understand as well as in a manner befitting the Creator of the Universe. Jesus, the Son of Man, is the revolution that speaks truth to ultimate power, and in the process saves us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Daniel 8