The Alpha and The Omega
Psalm 93 read responsively and Revelations 1:4-8
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ November 22, 2009
Christ the King Sunday
Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm 93
When does your faith seem the strongest? When do you definitely feel the presence of God?
From time to time, we all have such “mountain top” experiences. These emotional highs assure us that God is truly present. In that rarefied air, praise becomes fact. We realize all the platitudes we heap upon our Maker have basis in reality. The power and glory of God are palpable. God really is the Alpha and the Omega. Psalm 93 is just such a song of praise. As we read this psalm responsively may you recall the glory of our Lord and King.

1The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength. He has established the world; it shall never be moved;
2your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.
3The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring.
4More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the Lord!
5Your decrees are very sure; holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.

Revelations 1:4-8
Many hesitate to preach from Revelations. Maybe I am just foolish enough to try. It is a lectionary reading, but first the lesson must be read in its context. This is not a timeless, abstract vision. Its message is rooted in the experience of a specific person, John, who has been exiled for his faith to the island of Patmos, off the coast of present-day Turkey. He writes as Christ's messenger. When his letter was read aloud in the churches, people would have understood that through him Jesus Christ was testifying to the glory of God. John speaks to real churches, which are tempted, struggling, experiencing intense hostility from their neighbors, and he personally shares their suffering.[1] Cannot such a context speak to us as well? 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed* us from our sins by his blood, 6and made* us to be a kingdom, priests serving* his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him,even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail.So it is to be. Amen.
8 ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

SERMON
John reminds us that God is The Alpha and the Omega. There are the very first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It is like saying, “I am the A and the Z.” or “the beginning and the end.” It is an assurance that God is all encompassing.

The last week of the Christian year is meant to focus worshipers on the sole source of divine power and reign, so what a wonderful time to hear this message of the all embracing God. Christ the King Sunday is a day in which the people of faith are invited to the throne room where Christ is exalted and worshiped; it is the New Year's Eve of the Christian year, the day we come full circle and end a journey that began with the first Sunday in Advent. On this day we think of the entire Christian year, of our faith, of creation, of history, of the God who is all in all, and of the Christ who will rule over all. We think of the coming end of time and we submit to Christ as our sovereign, believing with Paul that "every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God" (Phil. 2:10-11).[2]

Yet perhaps the heightened sense of God's presence is best found outside the sanctuary, where Jesus is king not in places of power, but in people’s hearts and minds and where people try to serve him. Perhaps we will see him most vividly not among those of power but with those who seem powerless or those who work for peace. Jesus is king not where people seek advantage, but where people seek to be helpful; not where people seek security, but where people take risk to create a working, breathing and caring community.

This is good news. If Jesus is king not just once a year and on a throne but throughout all of time and in every place, then we don't have to be king, or seek another king. We no longer have to judge one another. We don't have to control what other people think and feel or force them to fit our expectations. When that happens, the kingdom of God is here and now, here in our hearts, here among us--and out there wherever we carry it. But as Bilbo of the Shire was want to say, “It’s a dangerous thing going out your door.” And it is still a dangerous thing to declare you faith.

Susan Eastman, Assistant Professor of Duke Divinity School writes that:
John takes conflict and suffering as the norm for Christian life and expects these churches to do the same. This expectation threads through the entire New Testament witness: to own Jesus as one's Lord is to come into conflict with all other "lords" that would claim our allegiance, whether they be the idols of economic success, social status, or simply apathy and personal safety. Revelation is a word of encouragement for those who are suffering, and a word of exhortation for Christians who acquiesce to the status quo in order to avoid any unpleasantness.

Mission work is one ways we learn to test our willingness to take a risk. Stony Point Center in New York hosted Young Adult Volunteers preparing to leave for their one-year service to the church in various places around the world. Most of them are fresh out of college and asking the proverbial question, “What am I going to do with my life?” Rather than giving an answer, our church provides an opportunity for them to extend the boundaries of their lives by serving in a volunteer position for one year, and touch other lives in the process. It is a risky endeavor; they may not find what they are looking for after giving a year of their young lives. They will be sharing lives with people who have little in common with them, and they may even face some harsh living conditions. Why do they do it? And why does the church spend resources to encourage our young people to take these risks? Mission is offering our lives into the lives of others. There is always the risk of rejection, misunderstanding others, being misunderstood, and many other consequences we did not anticipate or want. But as servants of the Alpha and the Omega can we do any less?
Sixty-seven 20-somethings with idealism, hope, and resolve (mixed with anxiety and trepidation) are going out to change the world. The world may not change much, but surely 67 lives will be changed, along with the lives of their families, friends and churches who support them in mission.[3]

Are you willing to walk the difficult road for your God and King, not just in worship or high holy days but every day? Will you follow Christ into times and places of risk? May this be a day when you can sense that you are a precious and an integral part of the great Alpha and Omega. May you recommit your lives to His service. Amen.

[1] “Commentary on Second Reading” by Susan Eastman, Duke Divinity School Durham, NC
[2] Living by the word: “Royal Choice” Christian Century, Nov 14, 2006 by Keith D. Herron

[3] Open letter from missionaries Simon and Haejung Park in Korea see: http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/letters/parks/parks_0909.htm