mark 15:27

i have been living with an image of God's glory that is completely unsatisfying

i don't like the image of His glory coming with thunder and lightening
i don't like imagining Jesus hovering above the earth with clouds rolling in, robes blindingly bright, sword in hand
i have been tainted by misused power and authority, street preachers and bedazzled christian tee-shirts trying to make a point

even when i acknowledge the beauty of the sun setting on the beach behind my house
or stand in awe under the shade of hundred-foot trees creating a canopy above me
or if i watch streams of water trickle down cliffs and river beds and into crashing waves
and give credit and praise to the God of creation,
i am unsatisfied

but, there is a story of God's glory that i adore and i've missed it until now

James and John ask Jesus to sit on his right and his left, in his glory
Jesus says: if you drink the cup that i drink, there you will sit
but it is not for Him to decide
and in a hauntingly beautiful parallel,
Jesus hangs crucified with a robber on his right, and a robber on his left
all drinking the cup of crucifixion
a moment that looks absolutely unglorious
humiliating, shameful and filled with pain
and in that moment, Jesus is glorified

i am satisfied with Jesus showing his glory in a way that makes sense to humanity
that he is glorified by his presence among human suffering,
among human reality and human experience

this is a God i can know and adore
even in his brilliance and might
among the wonder of creation
we are not forgotten