Athanasius, Pope Leo, Sting, and the God Who Laughs Last:
A Monologue on Providence
The Man Without Permission
They said Athanasius was African.
Then they quickly added, almost apologetically,
“But no known image of him exists.”
As if history itself cleared its throat.
No face. No portrait.
No complexion to debate.
Only a voice.
Yet his nickname?
The Black Dwarf
Explain that to me...
Bishop of Alexandria.
Under pressure.
Under Empire.
Under threat.
They asked him to soften the truth.
He answered by sharpening it.
Christ is God.
(He said)
Period!
Simple sentence.
Theological Earthquake.
They exiled him.
Once. Twice. Five times.
Five removals.
Five erasures.
Five attempts to delete a conscience.
But truth is stubborn like that.
It kept sneaking back into the city.
The Silent Clue
And all the while,
no image of him.
No statue. No fresco.
No face....
Just, Bishop of Alexandria
Just fire.
Just doctrine standing barefoot before empire.
A Divine Twist in History
History fast-forwards.
Balcony. Rome. White smoke.
A new Pope.
History clears its throat again:
“By the way—his grandparents were Black.”
Do you see it yet?
The Divine Irony
The faith that left Africa…
Which became 'The White Man's Religion',
returns wearing a fisherman’s ring.
Speak, Lord.
Your TRUE servants Listen...
The Humour of God
I have long suspected
that God possesses
the Greatest sense of humour imaginable.
The kind that waits centuries
before delivering the punchline….
For some reasons.
The last line of Sting’s Wrapped Around Your Finger
always accompanies this thought.
Something like:
“Soon you’ll find
Your servant is your masterrrr,
And you’ll be
Wrapped around my fingerrr…
Oh ho…”
Where was I? How did I go from
Athanasius to a Police song?
Empires vs. God’s Plot Twists
Empires love scripts.
God prefers plot twists.
The Reversal
They always crowned truth with thorns.
They always buried it under doctrine.
And?
And God always waits...
And in teh fulness of time,
Quietly whispers:
"Reverse It!"
The Last Line
Not by force. Not by violence.
Not by protest. But by time.
Time is God’s ‘Last Card’
Benediction
Athanasius without a face.
Leo with Black grandparents.
And a God who keeps folding history,
Until ALL pride is laid low before his throne
Until the margins become the message
(Until you find Your servant is your master)
Following the Sound of Laughter
No Seriously - How did I go:
From Alexandria
To the Vatican
To an singer from Wallsend?
Ah….
I followed the sound of Laughter.
God’s laughter….
The God Who ALWAYS Laughs Last.
I rest my caae.
Don Kenobi
#MyFrancisEssays
#OldManInTheMolue
#RestInPeacePopeFrancis
The Man Without Permission
They said Athanasius was African.
Then they quickly added, almost apologetically,
“But no known image of him exists.”
As if history itself cleared its throat.
No face. No portrait.
No complexion to debate.
Only a voice.
Yet his nickname?
The Black Dwarf
Explain that to me...
Bishop of Alexandria.
Under pressure.
Under Empire.
Under threat.
They asked him to soften the truth.
He answered by sharpening it.
Christ is God.
(He said)
Period!
Simple sentence.
Theological Earthquake.
They exiled him.
Once. Twice. Five times.
Five removals.
Five erasures.
Five attempts to delete a conscience.
But truth is stubborn like that.
It kept sneaking back into the city.
The Silent Clue
And all the while,
no image of him.
No statue. No fresco.
No face....
Just, Bishop of Alexandria
Just fire.
Just doctrine standing barefoot before empire.
A Divine Twist in History
History fast-forwards.
Balcony. Rome. White smoke.
A new Pope.
History clears its throat again:
“By the way—his grandparents were Black.”
Do you see it yet?
The Divine Irony
The faith that left Africa…
Which became 'The White Man's Religion',
returns wearing a fisherman’s ring.
Speak, Lord.
Your TRUE servants Listen...
The Humour of God
I have long suspected
that God possesses
the Greatest sense of humour imaginable.
The kind that waits centuries
before delivering the punchline….
For some reasons.
The last line of Sting’s Wrapped Around Your Finger
always accompanies this thought.
Something like:
“Soon you’ll find
Your servant is your masterrrr,
And you’ll be
Wrapped around my fingerrr…
Oh ho…”
Where was I? How did I go from
Athanasius to a Police song?
Empires vs. God’s Plot Twists
Empires love scripts.
God prefers plot twists.
The Reversal
They always crowned truth with thorns.
They always buried it under doctrine.
And?
And God always waits...
And in teh fulness of time,
Quietly whispers:
"Reverse It!"
The Last Line
Not by force. Not by violence.
Not by protest. But by time.
Time is God’s ‘Last Card’
Benediction
Athanasius without a face.
Leo with Black grandparents.
And a God who keeps folding history,
Until ALL pride is laid low before his throne
Until the margins become the message
(Until you find Your servant is your master)
Following the Sound of Laughter
No Seriously - How did I go:
From Alexandria
To the Vatican
To an singer from Wallsend?
Ah….
I followed the sound of Laughter.
God’s laughter….
The God Who ALWAYS Laughs Last.
I rest my caae.
Don Kenobi
#MyFrancisEssays
#OldManInTheMolue
#RestInPeacePopeFrancis
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