“9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? 8 Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? 12 If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13 Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. 15 But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Cor 9:1-27 ESV)

The legitimacy of Faith says not that we are “perfect” (“Ye must be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48)) but that we are malleable, amenable, instructed, exploratory, and kept humble. The legitimacy of Faith, there being many kinds of legitimacy, says that all things are somehow in some Divine line of sight, strangely perfectable, are becoming perfect, are Call and Response alacrity, hearkening, waking up, Testifying. We wake up, and God the Father is made real, honored, testified unto, acknowledged.

The humbling of the Son is a strange aspect of this Legitimacy He owned, of this Testimony He hastened unto—it being “perfect”, perhaps, but most of all hasty—that all is rewarding to the straight-laced earthly peer and prophet, whose legitimacy includes the rebuke of Satan, includes the Space Created to prophecy into, includes the Divine Right to be kings and queens, because He was King, because He was Legitimate, because He was mature and presentable, Ready and all-things to all men.

Earthly joys then include time transpiring, moving ahead, the buzz of Tomorrow already hastened to and heard Today: that we all of us will have to work together because Life will forget some long lost momentary regrettable or memorable Moment, and will hear Today’s testimony Anew, that we are after all still Children of the Throne, still “Fairness” prevails as over and against a would-be sibling’s offering or giftings. We can plead “fairness” and “divine right” to be rulers and pundits, perhaps. We can in the end await Tomorrow’s war because it soothes the pain, eases the insanity or the efforts to one-up the logical mechanical sensible Conclusions. We adhere to this pain, this insanity, this mind-boggling madness, because we are Stronger, Anointed unto the Mission of healthy-mindedness unto the popular crowds and opinions.

We are anointed to Serve in that excitement-met-with forlorn sorrow, that Spiritual War is upon us, that all yesterday’s jibes and jests will be moot by Tomorrow, because a reboot will have taken place and a coming together will have been the day’s Word. Because after all we are attorneys for our friends as much as—we Christians, here—for our enemies. This one, after all, was in some strange third eye glance, a friend, a non-foe, a compatriot at a safe distance, unto more sinister Powers-That-Be and wealth and fascisms.