Giving Up Christian Nationalism for Lent | No Throne but a Basin and Bread

Maundy Thursday and the Death of Christian Nationalism

Every Thursday, I publish an essay for paid subscribers. It’s my way of saying thank you for supporting my work. Throughout Lent, I am sharing a series of essays titled “Giving Up Christian Nationalism for Lent.” (And no, I am not resuming the practice of Christian Nationalism after Easter).

Jesus, the so-called King of Kings, gets up from the table, takes off his robe, and kneels before a group of bickering disciples who still think he’s on his way to a throne. He grabs their dirty, sandal-dusted feet and washes them like a servant. It’s awkward. It’s intimate. It’s theology in action.

And it’s everything Christian nationalism can’t understand.

Because this King doesn’t rule with swords. He kneels with towels.

If Palm Sunday was a theological parade—one kingdom entering the city on a donkey, the other behind a Roman warhorse—then Maundy Thursday is the coronation. Only it’s not the kind the world expects.

No crown.
No army.
Just bread, wine, and water for washing.