King or Tramp? Both.

Was Our Lord a King or a Tramp?
by Remington Huffaker | August 14, 2025
https://www.returntoorder.org/2025/08/was-our-lord-a-king-or-a-tramp/

Response:

Jesus is King, in His own person.

And in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like to the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle
[Apocalypse (Revelation) 1:13]

He is also Tramp in a specific kind of vicar. He has vicars for His authority over souls : Popes down to Exorcists. He has vicars for His authority over nations : Kings an Emperors down to policemen (in their legitimate duties). He has vicars as speakers of truth, the hagiographers individually fully, the Church Fathers at least collectively, the good authors apart from these at least partially, from St. Thomas Aquinas to G. K. Chesterton.

He also has another kind of vicars:

And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me
[Matthew 25:40]

A Christian tramp is in this sense a kind of vicar of Christ, and precisely of Christ the King, if you look up the beginning of the passage:

And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty
[Matthew 25:31]

King or Tramp? Aragorn in a novel, to a less degree King St. Oswald in real life, and part time King Alfred even more than Oswald were both.

And yes, a beggar is likelier to want to watch the Kingship of Jesus. Or even needs it more, his Friend above Friends is King of Heaven. But some people who could give to beggars need sometimes to be reminded of this type of vicars of the King of Glory.

The resources of the Church are sufficient for BOTH kinds of displays, don't tell me either of them should have been economised to give the money to the poor, I prefer St. Mary Magdalene over Judas!/HGL

PS, I would agree that the image is not top notch as devotional, it is however a kind of catechism./HGL