ADVENT BLOG Named by God - “ALPHA and OMEGA”

“”I am the Alpha and Omega” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come,

the Almighty”

(Revelation 1:8)

One memorable poem from my school days is “Ozymandias” by Percy Bysshe Shelley.  It tells the story of an ancient king who boasts that his kingdom will last forever.  The irony of this, of course, is that a traveller finds “half shrunk” a shattered statue.  His statue is in ruins and his kingdom is no more.  We just need to look at history to see how kingdoms rise and fall which can, at times, be unsettling.  When it comes to any group or organisation - from the Kirk to Parliament, church leaders and politicians - continuity and stability are so important.  It is also true in our own personal lives yet, so much comes to take the feet from us and undermine that stability and, therefore, our wellbeing.

This statement from Jesus offers an assurance of stability even in the most uncertain of times.  John, the writer of Revelation, uses the Greek alphabet to say something so very profound about Jesus in giving him this rather grand and mysterious title, “Alpha and Omega”.  The emphasis is on Jesus being with us, not just from the very beginning, but throughout - to infinity and beyond.  This underlines the continuity that faith offers to each and every one of us.  He has always been there.  He will always be there.  He is with us in the here and now.  There is no broken continuity.  In other words, he is there at the beginning and everything in-between.

As he brought light into the darkness at the beginning, he brings that same light into our darkness here and now.  As he brought order  to the chaos, he brings the same order into our troubled lives here and how.  There is such a great comfort in this but, also a reminder that he deserves our worship, our full attention, as the “Almighty”.  He is a friend and not a pal because there is a world of a difference.

What unsettles you in life?  What is unsettling you at the moment?  What does it mean to know that today, tomorrow and forever Jesus is that constant in your life?  What does it mean to worship as the Almighty?

God be in my head,
And in my understanding;
God be in mine eyes,
And in my looking;
God be in my mouth,
And in my speaking;
God be in my heart,
And in my thinking;
God be at mine end,
And at my departing.

AMEN