"...the Alpha and the Omega," [the one] "who is, and who
was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Powerful words. A
perfect text for this last Lord's day of the liturgical year, the
one designated by the Church around the world as Christ the King
Sunday.
Of course, the idea of Christ as king came long before the
church incorporated it on the calendar. Go back to the gospel
record and you find all four evangelists recounting the
confrontation we read about a moment ago. The religious
authorities had dragged Jesus before the Roman Governor, Pontius
Pilate in hopes he would be found guilty of treason. Pilate asks
Jesus, "Are YOU the king of the Jews?"
Jesus banters back, "Is that your own idea, or did others
talk to you about me?"
Pilate replies, "Am I a Jew? It was your people and your
chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have
done?"
Jesus answers, "My kingdom is not of this world." And we
know it is not. How could it be when "King of the Jews" was the
inscription posted over Jesus' head, not above a gilded throne
but atop a cruel cross? Still, we know the kingdom is real.
After all, why have we ever heard of Pontius Pilate? Or the high
priests, Annas and Caiaphas? The only reason we know those names
is because they were once part of the story of Jesus. Or what
about Pilate's great Roman Empire, or all the others of the past
2000 years? They have risen and fallen; kings and kingdoms have
come and gone. Presidents and Prime ministers, despots and
dictators have had their moments of glory. But through them all,
millions upon millions all over the world have humbled themselves
at the foot of that cross and bowed their heads in homage and
honor at the name of Jesus. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says
the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the
Almighty."
"The Alpha and the Omega." As you scholars know, those are
the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. To say
something or someone is the Alpha and the Omega is to affirm
completeness - the beginning and the end, the A to Z (and
everything in between)!
Interesting choice of words for the writer of Revelation.
John lived in a time of vicious persecution. To make a public
profession of faith in Jesus Christ put one in danger of, at the
least, becoming a social and commercial leper or, at worst, being
legally murdered as an enemy of the Roman empire. John himself
was on the prison island of Patmos as he wrote (and prison
islands were not simply places of incarceration; normally they
were holding cells for those awaiting execution). In the poetic
language of Revelation that we call "apocalyptic," John pictured
the awful conditions as they existed in his day and was convinced
they were God's judgment upon a world gone wrong.
He described the devastation of the forces of nature run
amok; he noted the moral rot and decay that turn humans into
monsters and destroy a society from within; he saw the disastrous
results of violent conflict. But with eyes of faith, John gazed
into the future and saw a better day, a day in a world ruled by
King Jesus - the Alpha and the Omega, the one who was and is and
is to come, the Almighty.
Others have seen that day as well. Just a few days ago we
joined some of those as we sat around our Thanksgiving tables.
We remember the Pilgrims' journey that had begun so full of hope
for a new life of religious freedom in a warm and welcoming land
called Virginia. Oops. Instead they landed at Plymouth Rock on
December 21, 1620, not the best time of year in Massachusetts.
Until such time as they could build houses and establish
themselves on the land, they made their home on board the
Mayflower, the vessel in which they had sailed.(1) The men went
ashore every morning to work, returning to the little ship at
night. They built a "common house" to which the sick and dying
were transferred, placed their four little cannon in a fort,
which they built on a hill close by, built two rows of houses
with a wide street between and finally landed their stores and
provisions. Then the whole company came ashore toward the last
of March, and in April the Mayflower sailed away.
The ensuing winter was hard and bitter. At one time all but
six or seven of the pilgrims were sick. Eighteen women denied
themselves food so that their children could eat. Thirteen of
them died. Half of the 102 pilgrims died of malnourishment,
disease, and exposure. Only about 30 of those who survived were
over the age of 16. Those who died were buried in unmarked
graves because the pilgrims did not want the natives to know how
small their numbers had become.
In the spring they planted three crops; English Peas,
Barley, and Indian Corn. The peas were planted too late - though
they came up beautifully, the hot sun parched the blossoms and
the plants died. One of the settlers described their barley
crops as "indifferent;" apparently the barley was not worth
harvesting either. Only the corn survived. Of course, not the
corn we are used to with big, plump yellow kernels; this was
"Indian Corn" with ears only two to three inches long and kernels
of different colors. The pilgrims harvested only twenty acres.
And to top it all off, a second shipload of thirty-five settlers
arrived without any provisions because they expected to live off
the crops the first settlers had raised. By the end of their
second winter in Plymouth, food had to be rationed again: five
kernels of corn for each person per day.(2)
A hard life. In fact, some proposed a Day of Mourning to
honor all those who had perished. But the others said no, a Day
of Thanksgiving would be more appropriate. After all, even
though half had died, half had NOT. Reason to give thanks to the
God who had seen them through. Good for them. The eyes of their
faith were the same as those of John so many centuries before.
They saw their world in the loving care and control of "the Alpha
and the Omega, [the one] who is and who was and who is to come,
the Almighty."
In 1957, Ben Michtom, president of the Ideal Toy Company,
had a brainstorm: why not sell a Jesus doll? The majority of
kids in America were Christian, so he figured parents would jump
at the opportunity to make playtime a religious experience.
Other Ideal executives were horrified, but Michtom was convinced
it was a great idea. To prove it, he took his case to a higher
authority; while on vacation in Italy, he got an audience with
the Pope and pitched the idea to him. The Pope gave his
blessing, as did every other Christian leader Michtom consulted.
Unfortunately for Ideal, Michtom did not consult any
parents, who probably would have told him the idea was a loser
(which it turned out to be). As Sydney Stem describes the doll
in Toyland, The High-Stakes Game of the Toy Industry, no one
bought them because parents were horrified at the idea of
undressing the Jesus doll, dragging it around, sticking it in the
bathtub. Nothing sold. Ordinarily, there is a no-return policy
on products already shipped, but in this case it was such a
horrible mistake that Ideal took the dolls back. It appears that
what Ideal did with them was give each of its employees a doll
and then ground up the rest and put them in landfills.
Jesus dolls - packaged in a box that looked like the Bible -
were probably the biggest doll flop in American toy history.(3)
Why? Because even though people of faith celebrate the fact that
Jesus was truly human - walked, talked, ate, drank, suffered,
even died - we know there is more to his story: he is "the Alpha
and the Omega, [the one] who is and who was and who is to come,
the Almighty." That is not doll house stuff!
And that is the point of this Christ the King Sunday - this
day is a reminder that Jesus is not simply some ancient itinerant
rabbi who taught timeless truths, not simply some helpful Hebrew
healer who had remarkable power over disease and even death, not
simply a compassionate, caring friend who reached out to those
whom society rejected, but rather the God of all creation come to
earth, incarnate in human flesh.
Christ the King. Do you believe it? Do you? Then how do
you show it? A good start is by taking Christ's instructions
seriously. If you want a quick primer on acceptable behavior,
take a fast trip through the Sermon on the Mount.(4) Angry words,
insulting words are out. Our sexual behavior will be in control.
We will be honest in our business dealings. We will go above and
beyond the call of duty in response to appeals for help. We will
care for the welfare of, not only our neighbor, but our enemy as
well. We will be religious, but not showy about it. Possessions
will have their rightful place in our lives, not the be-all and
end-all of existence. We will not be judgmental, but we will use
good judgment. We will trust God to meet our needs. Of course,
the gospels have lots more for us, but those should do to get us
started. Is Jesus Christ your King, your Lord? Good. Then you
will do your level best to do what he says.
Piece of cake, eh? Of course not. But we have the promise
of his abiding presence to help us on our journey. This is,
after all, our LIVING Lord. This is the one who is ultimately in
charge, and that, my friend, is a wonderful word of hope for you
or me or anyone who has ever been drenched in the storms of life.
It is a word of hope for this old world that says "the wrong
shall fail, the right prevail."
True, he wrote no books, composed no songs, drew no
pictures, carved no statues, amassed no fortune, commanded no
army, ruled no nation...
- And yet, he who never wrote a line has been made the hero of
unnumbered volumes.
- He who never wrote a song has put music into the hearts of
nameless multitudes.
- He who never established an institution is the foundation of
the Church that bears his name.
- He who refused the kingdoms of this earth has become the
Lord of millions
- Yes, he whose shameful death scarcely produced a ripple on
the pool of history in his day has become a mighty current
in the vast ocean of the centuries since he died.(5)
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is,
and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." Christ the King.
Quietly now. Listen for it. Faintly to be heard over the
busyness of a too-busy world, the clamor of Christmas
commercials, the noisy nattering of political spinmeisters, the
din of police whistles and fire sirens, the anguished cries of
the mothers of murdered children, you can begin to make it out.
Slowly but surely it builds to crescendo and echos down through
the corridors of the universe: "The kingdoms of this world have
become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. And he shall
reign forever and ever. Hallelujah!"
AMEN!
1. "Thanksgiving in America" by May Lowe from the book, Thanksgiving, Copyright (c) 1907
by Dodd, Mead, & Company
2. Graham Fowler, sermon via PresbyNet, "In Everything Give Thanks," 11/25/92
3. Dynamic Illustrations quoting Uncle John's Ultimate Bathroom Reader, (The Bathroom
Readers' Institute, Bathroom Readers' Press, Berkeley, California 1996)
4. Matthew 5-7
5. Mack Stokes quoted by James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 73
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