Then will be seen the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory;
son of adam
son of Adam
Son of Adam
adam’s Image
whatever the orthography
a presence
is implied
without the aid
of earthquake wind or fire
to reveal
said presence
all of which
is easier
without
confused titles
dependent relationships
but simply eaarth child
It is in a cosmic darkness that adam’s Image has enough distraction removed that it becomes visible as the background of all else, as presence. Such presence reminds us of Brother Lawrence and his thin book, The Practice of the Presence of God.
It is this background presence that removes the apocalyptic sense from the traditionally apocalyptic words and images being used. This was tricky, dangerous business for Mark to try to pull off as it trusts that people will have ears to hear beyond the surface of his story. It is, though, in keeping with the way in which Jesus continues to be a mystery, an unrevealed secret, to his very disciples, even the Twelve.
Bratcher415, talks about the construction of this verse:
The occurrence of the ”pivot construction,” in which the Son of man serves as the object of one verb, namely, see, and as subject of another, namely, coming, may require two clauses, paratactically combined: ‘the people will see the Son of man; he will be coming in clouds…’ Strictly speaking, the object of the verb see is not merely the Son of man, but the entire following dependent clause the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory, for what is seen is not just a person, but the entire event.
Just as “Watch Out!” acted as a transition from that which we are currently experiencing to that which ups the ante to a creation-wide event, so “adam’s Image” returns us to a creative garden and prophetically advances us to a new garden, a new Jerusalem, a new eaarth (read Bill McKibben’s Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet).
Parables and apocalyptic language are both intended to riddle us into a new awareness. Koan-like language and images are present in the traditional tales and poetry of every religious tradition (see Rumi as an example). It is a familiar way to be opened beyond the fragility of denotation attempting to describe ineffable experience.