Friday, March 27, 2009

Kings

and Kingdoms. Civic obedience and allegiance. Such abstractions to one indoctrinated by the trappings of democracy--which is, of course, a very different City of Man from those chronicled in the Writings and from that in the New Testament under Caesar. Maybe my political context is not that different--in every age, government preaches hope and healing and power, or maybe it does hinder my ability to draw more relevance from those stories of David I love or from those parables of a now and future Kingdom, the City of God. I don't know.

Anyway, just some thoughts after watching NBC's Kings on Hulu. Yay, another TV show!

Ever wonder how the Samuels might play out in modern day? Kings probably gets close, plus bonus timely, incisive political commentary. The pilot was excellent and I'm looking forward to more. Interested in seeing how true to the story the script might remain.

What this preoccupation with butterflies?

Kings imagines the stories of Saul (or Silas Benjamin) and David (David Shepherd) with other not-so-subtle allusions (e.g. General Abner, mother Jessie, Rev. Samuels) in a contemporary context. Or rather, some future in which a corporately financed monarchy, the Kingdom of Gilboa, has established a new capital at Shiloh through "industry, through ingenuity, through war and sacrifice." Factions fractured have become one nation at peace. The promise and falsehood of kings is unification, peace, strength, progress... in our lifetimes, with God as the tool and the means. A beautiful capital rising from ashy ruins. One flag, one king who parades the presumption of God's blessing then says "to hell with God" when he is told he has forfeited God's favor.

Shall a government ever restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, life to the dead? Shall one ever establish justice and peace and say, "Every tear has been wiped away?" The best of our passing cities only hint at these. To the world, Church, not state, must be the visible hint of the hope (real hope, not Obama hope) Kingdom to come.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20

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