Does Anyone See The Beggar in The Pulpit
by Donavon L Riley


The preacher, as beggar, is a vessel of the true beggar-king, Jesus Christ, whose poverty and humility transform our own hunger into the feast of divine grace. — D.

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He stands before us, worn and weary, swaddled in his robes, though beneath the polished surface of his voice, there’s a tremor. The preacher looks to us as the one who should give, the one who should lead, and yet he too stands in need. His words tumble down with force, but behind them, behind the liturgy, is the quiet thirst of a beggar still reaching out to the Almighty. We listen to his sacred tongue, not knowing the hunger hiding in the fold of his hands—palms pressed toward heaven, but with nothing to receive, no certainty to give.

Does anyone notice the poverty in his eyes, the ache behind the act? What does he offer if not his own emptiness, held up for the rest of us to see? And yet, beneath this poverty, a mercy persists: we need a beggar to lead us. If no man can carry the fullness of the Word, then we’re all beggars together—clasping together in the dark for the same bread, the same Life that seems always just out of reach.

But the beggar at the pulpit is simply a vessel of the true beggar-king. When Christ came, He, too, was not what He seemed. He, too, held out His hands, not in command, but in need. From a cradle of straw, to a table of broken bread, He wandered with nothing but His own love to offer. As King, He emptied Himself, laying down His crown, coming not in robes of righteousness but in the nakedness of shared hunger. He was the beggar and the King, the one who gave and took in a single movement—our hands and His joined, all of us searching for a hand to hold.

So, when the preacher stands there, a beggar, when we see him bent and burdened, do we not glimpse the truest image of the King? Not clothed in the comfort of the world, but broken, cast down, begging for the bread that we give to one another. The poverty He bears is the fullness He offers, turning the humble feast into the banquet of Heaven. We are all beggars in the same line, reaching for His broken body to fill the emptiness we’ve carried all this time, waiting for the blessing only a beggar-king can give.

By Donavon Riley

Donavon Riley is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author, and contributing writer for 1517 and The Jagged Word. He is also a co-host of the Banned Books and Warrior Priest podcasts. He is the author of the books, "Crucifying Religion,” “The Withertongue Emails,” and, “The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction.”

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