Power, Protest, and Possibility: The Gospel According to June 14

As someone who loves some good drama and juicy political irony, I am deeply invested in all that will happen in America on June 14, 2025. A protest? A parade? An obscure American holiday? There’s a lot going on, so let’s dive in.

Why June 14, 2025 Matters

June 14 is an American holiday known as Flag Day. Most of us don’t really know what it is, but it was a go-to joke for the kids I grew up with. When asked, “What’s your favorite holiday?” It wasn’t Halloween or Christmas; it was Flag Day. Because why not? (But, if you really want to know, Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the first official American flag in 1777.)

June 14 is also the current American president’s birthday. Born in 1946, Donald J. Trump will be celebrating his 79th trip around the sun. 

Continuing with our list, June 14, 2025 is also the 250th birthday of the American Army, which was officially established in 1775 and played a significant role in the fight for independence from Great Britain and King George III. 

This date, brimming with symbolism and American history, is about to take on even more meaning.

Trump’s Parade and the No Kings Day Protest

What makes June 14, 2025 so special? This year, the American nationalism, divisive political fervor, and societal unrest that have been boiling over for a ridiculously long time, will set the stage for two very different Saturdays. 

In the heart of the nation’s capital, the 79-year-old president, known for his love of grandeur and loyalty pledges, is celebrating this day with a “big, beautiful parade”—a show of military extravagance estimated to cost taxpayers “peanuts.” Oops, I mean tens of millions of dollars. 

Meanwhile, everywhere else in America, protestors will gather under the banner of “No Kings Day,” recalling that the American experiment began with resistance to monarchy. “No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings.” 

A military parade on one side, a movement of resistance on the other…sound familiar? It should—because we tell this story every year on Palm Sunday.

The Political Theology of Palm Sunday

Whether they march down Constitution Avenue or wind through the narrow streets of Jerusalem, parades are never just about celebration. They tell stories. 

And these stories aren’t new.

On Palm Sunday, Pilate’s military procession entered Jerusalem from the west with a “big, beautiful parade” of horses and weapons, telling the story of Rome’s power and control. 

Jesus, however, entered the city from the east. No weapons, no war horses. Just a donkey, a crowd of ordinary people, and a radical message of protest that, with compassion and imagination, a kinder, more peaceful world is possible.

Then and now. There and here. These processions tell different stories about what power looks like and what kind of world is possible. 

June 14, 2025: Power, Protest, and Possibility

With the political theology of Palm Sunday in mind, pay close attention to the stories told on June 14, 2025.

In one city, there will be a spectacle of centralized military power—an extravagant, self-indulgent birthday parade served under the guise of patriotism. While in many other cities across the country, voices will rise in protest under the cry of “No Kings.” 

What stories are these processions telling?
What kind of world are they claiming is possible?

Then, after noticing, take action.

Show up to Saturday (and beyond) with intention. Grab a palm branch, join the storytellers, and help shape a world where strength is rooted in compassion and empathy is not a sin. 

Each time we choose humility over ego, mutual care over domination, and truth over spectacle, we join the slow, quiet procession Jesus started long ago. It doesn’t always make headlines. But it’s where healing begins: in shared bread, an open table, and love that refuses to give up.

How will you show up on June 14, 2025, and every day after?
What story will your presence, your voice, your silence tell?

Because the stories we join shape the world we create.

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Further Reading