The Radical Social Justice of God(dess)
by Rev. Cory Bradford-Watts
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Readings
Revelation 19:11-17
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God.”
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The image of the bloody, fiery God from Revelation 19 can be a bit shocking at first. Why is the social justice and love wielding Christ so horrific in this vision, and why does it say, “He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself?” We find that although the Lord focuses on compassionate awareness and care, he doesn’t shy away from emphasizing the bloody and hurtful injustices in the world. And although the Biblical scriptures highlight that this is the glorified Jesus, it also doesn’t shy away from emphasizing that the Lord radically transcends any one tradition, name, gender, or creed – but can yield her spiritual-political sword in each of our hearts, no matter our spirituality.
Although many religious people claim the Divinity within each of our hearts as their Lord or Lady and only theirs (using scriptures that emphasize knowing the name of God as justification for only their selective “name”), the Bible, Qur’an, and other holy scriptures tend to emphasize God’s transcendence of one spoken name and any one image or tradition. Despite our blinders at times, we can start to get a sense of Goddess’ transcendence of our limited thinking in scriptures like ours today, as well as indications of God’s Holy Spirit being female, the Divinity of Wisdom called Sophia, and the hundreds of names of God and shared invocations of compassionate awareness and action throughout each of many of the world’s scriptures.
Whatever painting or image of God we might put on our walls, unless you’re Hindu I doubt it looks anything like this glorified Christ! With eyes like fire, covered in blood and bling, and a sword coming out of his mouth, this image of the “truer” tatted spiritual body of the Divine Jesus wouldn’t be accepted on many grandmothers’ mantlepieces. And as we know, his radical political stances have also been largely glossed over in favor of appropriating aspects of his powerful impact on people in order to promote subjugation for selfish and ego-defensive ends (often without realizing what we’re doing!).
Further, what I find interesting is that so many aspects of this image can speak to us on such a contemporary basis today. Currently, we continue to see the martyrdom of the oppressed, abused, and disenfranchised at the hands of repressive dominating forces. Like with Christ, these martyrs are often labelled as criminals, lower-caste outcasts, and having had it coming by the propaganda of those invested in this hurtful often capitalistic worldview. And I can’t help but wonder, if Jesus taught and was martyred today, how might many of his very followers shun and despise him?
The rider of the white horse “is called Faithful and True,” and I think centering on that vine, on Him, on Her, and that core of truth-filled compassionate light within (and its many lessons) is a core tenet of what these scriptures encourage. Our ideas about God often are a mirror of what we aspire to, and so Christ’s emphasis on love (for both enemies and neighbors), on social justice, and his healing care for others as ourselves can help to clean up and refocus that mirror, helping to light our way and empower us. Thus, helping to give back our rightfully higher aspirations for ourselves, as well as opening our awareness to the all-inclusive, peaceful reality of Divinity in all of its infinitely diverse, shining, mysterious love and beauty.
It’s these lessons about turning away from our inattentive selfishness and hurtful distractions, and back towards our source of compassionate awareness within that are indicated by the sharp sword coming out of his mouth which will “strike down the nations.” His revealing parables and shared truths about care throughout many traditions help us to break down the false walls between ourselves and others, revealing that we are one in the Divinely Named One – no matter our seeming differences. This not only calls us to a similarly radical, loving social justice like Christ’s, but naturally encourages us in it.
Like Christ’s eyes of fire, our own awareness shines compassionate light onto our world and our minds. Unfortunately, when we become too identified with our make-believe walls – often our bodies, our mind’s ramblings, our circumstances, and our histories – we stifle this light instead of letting it illuminate our world with loving, peaceful, and caring attention. However, as we become more identified with that awareness that shines within all things and is the energy that lovingly makes all things (instead of identifying with our transient, limited point-of-view), false boundaries melt away and we start to naturally care for the universe as being a part of ourselves!
Coming to centre on the radically caring King of Kings, the Queen of Queens, and the Lord of Lords (the source of all of our royalty) as the absolute centre of each of our lives places us on our own white horse of purified reason, carrying us forward with healthy decision-making and action. This causes us to follow the Lord, as the armies do in our reading. Also, as indicated in our reading and further spelled out in the Hebrew text of Isaiah 63, God Known By Many Names treads the winepress alone. Divinity is the source of all of our strength and works to break down the divisions between us transient “grapes” – bringing us together as one magnificent fine wine with a diversity of richness that only gets fuller as time goes on.
Intentionally centering on what is faithful and true within us and finding Divine Justice at our helm can often be as simple as letting go of our divisive, selfish delusions and remembering, “I Am.” Taking moments for prayer, remembrance, or meditation on this Divine Awareness and Love within everything can help engender stability and peace of heart, as well as a natural effort towards compassionate social justice for all. The revolutionary nature of God(dess) can sometimes be lost on us, especially when his image is constantly used for hurtful purposes, but reconnecting with her shocking, love-filled and surprisingly open approach can break us out of our walled dungeon and back out into the light.
Peace, justice, and loving awareness to you,
Cory