 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."
Revelation 22:13 No doubt you have seen this symbol many times. The Alpha and the Omega symbols individually are seen most often around college campuses in connection with “frat row.” They are also evident in most churches as they represent the divine person of Jesus Christ. Many times, the Alpha and Omega symbols are represented as a unified whole. The truth is, there are many variations of this symbol to be found, but they all reflect the same truth. The Church Fathers recognized the importance of the eternal reality of God proclaimed by Jesus, as St. Andrew of Caesarea wrote: “Christ is shown here both as God and as the Ruler of all things, both beginningless and at the same endless, existing now and existing before and having no end, since He is coeternal with the Father, and on account of this He will render to each one the wages of deeds done.” Commentary on the Apocalypse, The Fathers of the Church vol. 123 Additionally, Tertullian espouses: So, too, the two letters of Greece, the first and the last, the Lord assumes to Himself, as figures of the beginning and end which concur in Himself: So that, just as Alpha rolls on till it reaches Omega, and again Omega rolls back till it reaches Alpha, in the same way He might show that in Himself is both the downward course of the beginning on to the end, and the backward course of the end up to the beginning; so that every economy, ending in Him through whom it began—through the Word of God, that is, Who was made flesh—may have an end correspondent to its beginning. And so truly in Christ are all things recalled to “the beginning”… and lastly, the whole man into Paradise, where he was “from the beginning.” The importance of Christ’s self-revelation cannot be underestimated. To pray and meditate on this divine truth is to enter into a depth of revelation that has the ability to alter human perspective forever. God has no beginning, no point of origin. There was no “before” Him. There can never be an “after.” No one breathed life into His lungs, and no one can take His life from Him. “He is before all things, and by him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). "He is both the first and the last" (Isaiah 44:6). "He was and He is, and is He coming again" (Revelation 1:4). Though God created time, He stands outside of it. Like a ship in a bottle, all time is observable by God at once. To even speak of God in terms that suggest finite temporal existence is incorrect, but we have no other way to describe Him. God is not in a separate time observing our time, God is at once, all. In terms of our reliance upon God, God stands outside of time and our temporary troubles. There is no heartache that can outlast Him, and no hurt He wasn’t around to see. But as vast and incomprehensible as our Creator God is, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to put on flesh and dwell with us, to enter into time, to die for us, and to save us from sin and death. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation… all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:15-16). The continuity of God has been part of God’s revelation since the beginning. In Psalm 90 the psalmist paraphrases Moses' exaltation of God’s timelessness: "Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Eusebius, historian, exegete, and Christian polemicist, wrote: Lastly, he who is in all, before, and after all, his only begotten, pre-existent Word, the great High Priest of the mighty God, elder than all time and every age, devoted to his Father’s glory, first and alone makes intercession with him for the salvation of mankind. Supreme and pre-eminent Ruler of the universe, he shares the glory of his Father’s kingdom: for he is that Light, which, transcendent above the universe, encircles the Father’s Person, interposing and dividing between the eternal and uncreated Essence and all derived existence: that Light which, streaming from on high, proceeds from that Deity who knows not origin or end, and illumines the super-celestial regions, and all that heaven itself contains, with the radiance of wisdom bright beyond the splendor of the sun. This is he who holds a supreme dominion over this whole world, who is over and in all things, and pervades all things visible and invisible; the Word of God. From whom and by whom our divinely favored emperor, receiving, as it were a transcript of God called every believer to be His son. He gave His Word so that we could know what is going on around us. Otherwise, without His Word, man would be completely lost. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead so we could live a more than abundant life today and look forward to eternal life in His presence. God will never send another savior. Jesus Christ of Nazareth was “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.” The Oration of Eusebius When you pray of pain and fear, remember that Jesus has been since before there was time. Know that God is, and always will be, here, now, for you and with you. This is your time. In time, Fr. Bill+
0 Comments
Resurrection Spiritual Transformation
The proof that God raised Jesus from the dead is not the empty tomb, but the full hearts of his transformed disciples. The crowning evidence that he lives is not a vacant grave, but a spirit-filled fellowship. Not a rolled-away stone, but a carried-away church. Clarence Jordan, Baptist Theologian Easter is the high holy season in which we are dramatically reminded of that which we are called to live every day. Our liturgy, hymns, prayers, and psalms are focused on Christ’s resurrection to lift and empower us to new life in Christ. While the liturgy is beautiful and the season wonderful, it is nothing if not for our own transformation. Our spiritual transformation cannot be separated from Christ’s resurrection; in fact, it is central to it. In order to transcend our current spiritual condition, we must embrace resurrection and our central inspiration and goal. Peter Rollins, author and philosopher, names some actions as central to a resurrection spiritual focus, and others not. I deny the resurrection of Christ every time I do not serve at the feet of the oppressed, each day that I turn my back on the poor; I deny the resurrection of Christ when I close my ears to the cries of the downtrodden and lend my support to an unjust and corrupt system. However, there are moments when I affirm that resurrection, few and far between as they are. I affirm it when I stand up for those who are forced to live on their knees, when I speak for those who have had their tongues torn out, when I cry for those who have no more tears left to shed. Embracing Christ’s resurrection can bring with it many opportunities to serve – help at a food kitchen, volunteer at MCEF, organize a food drive – but more and better that these would be a spiritual awakening. A spiritual awakening can begin from many starting places but always requires the honest desire to know God. Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Footnote to Howl” invites us to a celebratory, life-affirming, visceral embrace of holiness in all things. I offer you a portion of his poem. Take time reading, and perhaps it may be the starting place you are looking for. Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! The world is holy! The soul is holy! The skin is holy! The nose is holy! The tongue and cock and hand and asshole holy! Everything is holy! everybody’s holy! everywhere is holy! everyday is in eternity! Everyman’s an angel! The bum’s as holy as the seraphim! the madman is holy as you my soul are holy! The typewriter is holy the poem is holy the voice is holy the hearers are holy the ecstasy is holy! Holy the unknown and suffering beggars holy the hideous human angels! Holy time in eternity holy eternity in time Holy the sea holy the desert holy the railroad holy the locomotive holy the visions holy the miracles holy the eyeball holy the abyss! Holy forgiveness! mercy! charity! faith! Holy! Ours! bodies! suffering! magnanimity! Holy the supernatural extra brilliant intelligent kindness of the soul! Berkeley 1955 from Collected Poems: 1947-1997 by Allen Ginsberg. May your spiritual awakening begin for the rest of your life. May you open your whole self — heart, soul, mind, and strength — to God’s inspiring call to new life and renewed love. May you feel God luring you, prompting you, and encouraging you — each day and in each new present moment — to practice resurrection. Resurrected in Him, Fr. Bill† An “Arts in the Park” Thank-You!!
The build-up was progressive; the anticipation was stressful; the execution was glorious! This past weekend was our car parking extravaganza at Arts-in-the-Park. Despite the threat of weather, we had two days of happy participants and organized parking. Many thanks to all who volunteered. Special thanks to Barbara Jennings, who led the team serving at the City Stadium parking lot, and to Will Burk, who led the way at Dogwood Dell. Both parking locations were very busy, and the rush/retreat was handled without incident. We had many parking veterans this year as well as first timers and several special volunteers. Thank you, first timers and all our faithful returning folks. Thank you to those who pulled double and triple shifts! A BIG thank you goes to members of the AA Wednesday night Men’s Bible Study, who joined us Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I received generous and consistent feedback from visitors as well, and the event coordinators say that this may have been “the best and smoothest parking job yet!” All in all, it was a wonderful two days of service and a blessing of community for all servers and attendees. To commemorate the occasion, Jenny has penned (while she was parking, as I understand it) a poem (ala Dr. Seuss) in tribute to our adventure. That Bill I will, That Bill I will, All on about the parking still: Do you like to park the cars? Do you like them near or fars? I do not like them, Bill I will. But I will park them, even still. Will you park them in the rain? Will you park them on a train? Will the drivers make you go insane? Will you park them in a box? Though non-handicappers try to outfox? Will you park them at the stadium, Midst a lot-shift pandemonium? Will you park them in the Dell? Will you park them all so swell? I will park them, yes I will, I will park them, Father Bill. I will park them in a pinch, I will park them inch by inch. Stand down Vendors, it's a cinch. I will park them in a lurch, Sunday shift means pass from church. In the hot sun, it's no fun, In the rain, it's such a pain. In the heat, on aching feet, I will park them, you will see 't. I will park them, Bill I will. I will park them even still. Here's Will I can, fresh from dashboard cam: He is the man, that Will I can; Laying out his master plan of cars in rows like sardine can. And nothing more seamless than that stadium team-less, Parking in hot sun keeping cool, when overflow traffic breaks the rules and cars outnumber parkers 100/2. Yes, consider yourself lucky to park cars with a Stuckey - or any of the many, many plucky Creator folk who made a good show. We can admit to what we know: It's fun to tell folks where to go! I will try it, I will see. Arts in the Park is right for me. It's not so bad, though some may talk, When the next day they can't walk. Thank you all who donned a vest, To come, help out, and give their best. We are grateful to God we pulled it off, and for next year we heartily--COUGH We heartily agree... That next year we shall wait and see! One thing is for sure and that's this song: our Creator Family has it going on. With thanks and praise to our God above, We did it in His service, sacrifice, and LOVE! Parked. - Fr. Bill+ |
AuthorFather Bill Burk† Archives
June 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly