No King but Jesus
UM Insight Graphic Courtesy of NoKings.org
A United Methodist Insight Editorial | June 11, 2025
The time is now, and the need is great. The need, however, isn’t merely for more bodies in the streets protesting the current federal administration’s inhumane policies and practices. The greatest need is for Jesus’s followers to practice the proclamation and peacemaking that are most effective means to subvert the drive to turn the United States of America into an authoritarian empire.
This Saturday’s “No Kings” protest promises to blanket the nation with possibly millions of people who object to President Donald Trump making immigrants and legitimate demonstrators into enemies of the state. It doesn’t take much for thoughtful people to recognize the power grab behind his militarized defense against peaceful demonstrations.
Pundits by the dozen have pointed out that President Trump sees himself as “king of kings.” That phrase should ring alarm bells for every faithful Christian. For us, there is only one “king of kings,” and his name is Jesus, the Christ. No earthly ruler, royalty or rogue, can usurp Jesus’ authority for us who follow his way.
Therefore, as the Rev. Dr. Vance Ross eloquently puts it in his video, we can’t pretend that we don’t see what’s going on. How we respond to what’s happening will mark our discipleship – or lack of it – for the rest of our lifetimes.
Opportunities for witness increase every day. Consider this note from The Marshall Project:
“Protests against ICE sweeps spread to other cities. Thousands rallied in Chicago against the Trump administration’s immigration policies on Tuesday (June 10). Chicago Sun-Times Hundreds protested outside ICE headquarters in New York City on Tuesday. The New York Times There were anti-ICE protests in Seattle on Tuesday. The Seattle Times Hundreds more protested the Trump administration’s immigration detention policies in Austin, Texas, late Monday. The Texas Tribune There were protests this week in Orange County, California. Courthouse News Service
What’s going on isn’t about politics, as protest signs say; it’s about basic respect for humanity, or in Christian terms Jesus’s command to love our neighbors.
Our proclamation must be accompanied by peacemaking to be faithful and effective. In addition to Dr. Ross’ counsel and the advice of the General Board of Church and Society, Eileen Flanagan of Waging Nonviolence unveiled a new guide she’s written with Choose Democracy Director Daniel Hunter in an article, Timely Lessons for Keeping People Safe In The Streets.
Peacekeeping Guidances
Cover of a guide for peacekieeping during demonstrations (UM Insight Screenshot)
“One challenge of this time is to deepen our own capacity for calm amid chaos, while training and preparing the many new people suddenly surging into the streets in opposition to Trump,” Flanagan wrote. “On the whole, a growing movement is a good problem to have, but it also means more people who might not understand what is helpful and what isn’t. There are also more people legitimately enraged and terrified by Trump’s heartless policies. Then there are the infiltrators, stirring up the trouble that Trump so badly wants. It won’t always be clear who is who.
“Again and again, whether it was dealing with angry participants, counter-protesters, or mounted police, the same advice kept coming up: stay calm. This makes it easier to assess how dangerous a situation might be and discern what to do.”
Flanagan’s advice rings true not only for street protests but for all other aspects of life, including Christian life and U.S. citizenship. Behind cruel immigration raids, a corrupt culture that Old Testament prophets would condemn is at work. Again, from The Marshall Project:
“A culture of corruption. “People who make Mr. Trump richer regularly receive favorable treatment from the government he runs.” The New York Times More: The danger of normal life during an autocratic rise. The New York Times”
The prophet Amos cried out against such abuse, including condemning Israel’s refusal to accept God’s correction despite multiple attempts through adversity (Amos 4:6-13). The immutable third law of physics is at work now, as we see every tyrannical action elicits an equal, opposite reaction of protest. Nonetheless, it’s critical that we Christians and other like-minded allies play a central role in maintaining calm amid the chaos.
Jesus predicted that his followers would be reviled for his sake, so we must expect to be ridiculed and possibly physically harmed. Still, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. proved that Jesus’s teaching of facing oppression with nonviolent defiance proves effective, even though we risk injury. Now is our time to embody this lesson once again for the sake of those being persecuted by a rapacious regime, and for our witness that the way of peace is God’s intention for all.
Cynthia B. Astle
Photo by Taylor Walters Denyer
Cynthia B. Astle is Editor of United Methodist Insight, an online journal she founded in 2011 as a media channel for news and views about, for and by marginalized and underserved United Methodists.