I Am the Alpha and Omega

During Lent we looked at the 7 “I Am” statements Jesus makes in the Gospel of John: “I Am the Bread of Life,” “I Am the Light of the World,” “I Am the Gate,” “I Am the Good Shepherd,” “I Am the Resurrection and the Life,” “I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life,” and “I Am the Vine.” We established that not only were the metaphors Jesus used important but that he very well knew that by using “I Am” he was making a play on the words used for God’s covenant name, which he gives Moses and which is often translated “I Am that I Am” or “I Am” for short. Certainly when Jesus says “Before Abraham was, I Am,” his critics caught the implication and wanted to respond with violence.

But it would be inaccurate that these were the only “I Am” statements in Johannine literature. The Book of Revelation picks up a lot of the themes and wording that the Gospel of John uses. Many think the same author wrote both; some say “No, but they are part of the same school of theological thought and writings as John’s Gospel and the 3 letters of John.” And among the shared wording is another, quite significant “I Am” statement. Three times in Revelation, once in the first chapter and once in each of the last two chapters, Jesus says to John, “I Am the Alpha and the Omega.” Sometimes he adds, “the beginning and the end.”  Which makes sense because Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. It would be the equivalent of Jesus saying in English, “I am the A and the Z.” 

What does he mean by that? Well, it could mean he is literally the first thing to exist and will be the last thing as well. In other words, it could be a way of saying he is eternal. And it’s certainly true. According to John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” It becomes obvious that Jesus is that Word. John probably got the term from Philo, a Jewish philosopher who tried to reconcile Judaism with Greek thought. The Word, or Logos in Greek, was the principle of reason that gives the cosmos order. It could be seen as analogous to Wisdom, which in the Book of Proverbs is personified and who worked with God in creating the universe. Anyway, if Christ is the Word through whom God made the world, he would be pre-existent to it and all creation. And as God he would last forever though the world would not.  

But there is another sense in which Jesus could mean he is the Alpha and the Omega. He is not only the first thing that existed but should be the first priority in our life. First principles are the most important. A principle all doctors should observe is “First, do no harm,” a paraphrase of a key part of the Hippocratic Oath they swear. In the jail, the first priority is “safety.” It trumps everything else and explains why certain things that we might see as innocent, like hardbound books and regular rosaries, are considered contraband. The first priority in our lives should be Jesus. Using the question “What would Jesus do?” to determine ethical behavior is a version of this.

But when would Jesus be the last priority as well? Perhaps it would be best to say, instead, that Jesus should be the first and last thought in any endeavor. It’s possible to start off on the right foot but get sidetracked along the way. For instance, in the jail, shaving is encouraged, especially for trustees and those going to trial. To that end, male inmates are issued razors at specific times for a limited period of time in exchange for their IDs, which they otherwise must have on themselves at all times. To get his ID back, an inmate must return the razor which is inspected to see that it is intact and unaltered. How important is the last part? Just last month a serial killer in Alaska committed suicide with a razor the floor officer did not check back in. And dying along with him was the information officials hoped to get on his other victims. So safety should be first and last in your mind, and Jesus should be both your first and last thought as you serve him.

 Another possible meaning of “I Am the Alpha and the Omega” is that Jesus both starts and ends things. He created the world; he will bring about the end of the world, as we know it. He is not only the beginning and end of history; he is the cause of both. He starts creation and brings it to its culmination. And he, of course, brings us into existence and brings our existence, at least as animals, to its conclusion.

Or, should I say, its zenith. Because unlike the stories we tell, there need not be any end to our life histories. Jesus offers us eternal life. But that’s not merely more life, endless life, but eternal life, life of a different quality. It is life outside of time, life in the eternal now, God’s life. It is also a transformed life. When Jesus rose again, his body was both like and unlike ours. Still bearing his scars, he could eat, drink, touch and be touched but was not limited by time and space. He appeared to the disciples despite the fact that they were behind locked doors and did so having been with 2 disciples in Emmaus, 4 miles away, just minutes earlier. The risen Christ did things that are not actually impossible, but which only sub-atomic particles have been observed doing.

Geologist, paleontologist and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin developed the idea of the Omega Point, the supreme point of complexity and consciousness, towards which all creation is moving. The Omega point is already existing, personal, transcendent, free from the limits of time and space, and irreversible. And not only is everything moving toward the Omega Point but it is actually drawing all things to itself. Chardin, of course, saw the resemblance between the Omega Point and the Logos, of which John wrote. In John 12:32, Jesus says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to me.” If Christ is the image into which we were created, the image his Spirit works to restore in us, the model and exemplar of what we should be, as well as the one through whom all things were made, then it makes sense that he is the goal towards which everything in creation is moving and growing.  Christ is the Alpha in the sense that he is the original pattern of creation and he is Omega as its ultimate destination.

There is one last way in which Christ is the Alpha and Omega. We have dictionaries and encyclopedias; the British call these, generally when the book is limited to one subject, an “A to Z.” In other words, everything you need to know about the subject can be found within the pages of the book. Jesus can be thought of as covering everything in this life from A to Z. In him we live and move and have our being. He encompasses all of creation and all of our experiences. He knows joy, pain, humor, grief, anger, reconciliation, injustice, vindication, friendship, betrayal, prejudice, openness, false expectations, honest appraisal, kindness, contempt, peace, turmoil, love, life and death. And life after death.

That is truly the undiscovered country, as Shakespeare put it. True, throughout history people thought dead have come back to life and described being met by a being of light and love. Since the invention of far more effective forms of medical resuscitation we have many more people reporting such experiences. In a recent book, a neurosurgeon had such an experience and, what’s more, had it when his brain activity was nil according to monitors in the ICU. It could not, then, have been an hallucination, says Dr. Eben Alexander, for his brain was not working. But Jesus returned after 3 days in a tomb, not a nearly invalided survivor, requiring months of care, but hale and hearty, so robust and beaming with health that they often didn’t recognize him at first. His resurrection convinced the disciples to unlock their doors and go into the world fearlessly announcing his incarnation, death and resurrection as the ultimate good news. They went to their deaths, proclaiming his risen and eternal life, confident that they would on the last day once again stand with him in risen and renewed bodies.

Jesus is the beginning and the end, the one who was and is and is to come, the start of all things and their destination, the original pattern and its final culmination, the sum total of all there is, the Alpha and Omega. He should be our first priority and last consideration. He should be our first thought of the day and our last thought at night. He should be our last thought at our death, too, for he will be the first person we see after that, bursting with love and with light, like the sun rising behind me, but more radiant, more splendid, giving warmth and light to not merely to this terrestrial ball, but to the whole of creation, which was born out of his love and which he plans to bring within the all-encompassing sphere of his love, of which Jesus is the first and last word on the subject.

The Bible Challenge: Day 90

The scriptures read are Judges 10-12, Psalm 76 and John 10.

Judges 10-12. We have a lot of judges about which we know little to nothing. They are kinda the Millard Filmores and Rutherford B. Hayes of the judges. You've got to include them but there are no good stories about them. But sandwiched between them is Jephthah, who has a tragic tale. He starts out the illegitimate son of Gilead, via a prostitute. He's kicked out until they need someone to fight the Ammonites. Then he makes a rash vow to sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his door when he returns home. And it's his only child, a virgin daughter. Finally the Ephraimites (what's with them?) are upset that they didn't get to fight so they fight Jephthah. They get trounced, especially because they can't pronounce the password, Shibboleth. Death by speech impediment. After all this, Jephthah dies after only 6 years.

Psalm 76.How fearsome God is, especially to the enemies of the humble.

John 10. This follows on from the previous chapter so this is still the aftermath of healing the man born blind. Jesus uses the metaphors of shepherd and gate about himself. (For more on this, click here.) The thieves and hired hands must be the Pharisees and scribes who do not seem to care for God's people and devour them rather like Jesus said the Pharisees devour the livings of widows.

More importantly Jesus says, "I and the Father are one." He also lets slip that he is claiming to be the Son of God. The religious leaders are about to stone him but he appeals to the works he does. What do his healings and miracles and manner of life say about him? Are these not from God? And so, long before C. S. Lewis, they are faced with the Trilemma: Is Jesus a liar, a lunatic or the Lord?
     
Congratulations! You're on Day 90 of the Bible Challenge! You've read 9 whole books of the Bible, and you're halfway through 3 more of them, including the Psalms. And coming up: Samson and Lazarus! 

Keep up the good work!  

The Bible Challenge: Day 89

The scriptures read are Judges 7-9, Psalm 75 and John 9.

Judges 7. God thins the ranks of Gideon's army to make it clear that he wins the battles. Not sure what the dog lapping has to do with it. In Sunday school, I was told that they didn't look down at the water but cupped their hands, brought the water to their mouths so they could drink while watching for the enemy. But the text doesn't indicate that. Anyway, God lets cautious Gideon overhear an enemy soldier's dire dream of defeat for the Midianites.

The whole thing sounds like psy-ops, using sounds and sudden light to disorient and startle the enemy.

Judges 8. Don't refuse giving bread to a man on a mission from God. And don't get seduced by a golden breastplate.

Gideon had 70 sons! I do think that is a Biblical record.

Judges 9. Wow! Those 70 sons don't last long. Abimelech kills them all with a single stone. Then sets himself up as a kind of pseudo-king. But violence breeds violence. Abimelech and his allies begin some serious infighting. Then a woman in a tower brains Abimelech with a mill stone. A woman saves the day again!

Psalm 75. Praise for God and a warning to the arrogant.

John 9. The man born blind. Jesus refuses to engage in needless theological speculation. Love how Peterson translates this: "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do."

Needless to say, Jesus heals him. Needless to say, it's the Sabbath. The blind man and his parents are grilled. Unable to reconcile the miracle with the violation of the Sabbath, the leaders take it out on the man once blind. Jesus goes to the guy and the man gladly gives Jesus his allegience. Then Jesus paraphrases little Donnie Dark. Or Jonathan Swift: "There are none so blind as those who will not see." (Cf. Butterflies Are Free on IMDB)

The Bible Challenge: Day 88

The scriptures read are Judges 4-6, Psalm 74 and John 8.

Judges 4. The story of Deborah, the only woman (that we know of) who was a judge over Israel. She calls Barak to lead the army against Jabin the king of Hazor. But Barak won't go into battle without Deborah. Barak routs the enemy but the coup de grace is delivered by Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite. She nails Jabin, literally, in what has to be considered a major feat of strength plus hand and eye coordination. (You try hammering a tent peg through someone's head. On second thought, don't.) It is also, it seems to me, a serious breach of the Middle Eastern ettiquette of hospitality. All's fair in war, apparently. The upshot is 2 women triumph over the enemy.

Judges 5. A long song about the victory, giving everyone who participated credit. Kind of a sad coda with Jabin's mom waiting for him to return. If they had dramatized this in the Bible mini-series, I would have had Emily Lou Harris sing Deborah's part. Not sure who should sing Barak's part. Seriously, though, I would love to have heard what the original song sounded like.

Judges 6. Gideon sure is a cautious fellow. Totally ignores the "Do not put God to the test" idea.  Today Gideon would be a scientist, running multiple trials to confirm his work. But God is patient and works with him.

Psalm 74. The Jews were in exile in Babylon for 70 years. This lament seems to have come out of that. The psalmist asks if God has abandoned them forever? Will he let the actions of blasphemers go on? When will he remember his covenant and act?

John 8. This only qualifies as a trap if you figure Jesus is merciful, which evidently even his enemies acknowledged. They figure they can catch him trying to wiggle out of the requirements of the law. I always wonder what Jesus was writing in the dirt. A list of the sins of her accusers? The relevant passage in Deuteronomy 19 where it says the false witness shall receive the punishment the accused would have gotten? The words "Where is the man?" since if she was caught in the act a guy should be standing before Jesus as well? Whatever, Jesus' answer stifles the urge to stone her. Not one person in the crowd would claim to be sinless. Jesus doesn't excuse her behavior; he just doesn't pass sentence on her. He tells her to "sin no more." 

Jesus declares himself to be the light of the world. They just don't see it. Then the dialogue turns to paternity and they are offended by Jesus' suggestion that they are children of the devil. Oh, and that Jesus is the son of God. Jesus drops an "I Am" statement and the folks get the reference. Jesus absents him from their presence before it gets ugly,

Service, Love and Honor

The scripture referred to is John 13:1-17.

John's Gospel is the odd man out when it comes to so many events in Jesus' life. It mentions John the Baptist  but not Jesus' baptism. It tells us Jesus cleansed the temple but puts this event at the beginning of his ministry, not the end the way the other gospels do. It mentions the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples but not the words "This is my body"  and "This is my blood." Scholars attribute this to a radically different tradition but I think there is a simpler explanation.

I once read a book called The Unknown Hitler.  It was written by a German historian who had penned a biography of Rudolph Hess, the enigmatic man who was once Hitler's designated successor. In doing the research, the historian picked up a lot of information about Hitler that he had not seen in any of the biographies of the Fuhrer. So he published this small book and explained that it was not a full biography of Adolph Hitler but a supplement to the others, shedding light on and emphasizing certain aspects of the man that the others missed. I think John's Gospel does the same thing for Jesus. He skips the stuff the other gospels had already covered and instead concentrates on the events and sayings that they didn't have. I was gratified when New Testament scholar Dr. Minka Sprague not only showed interest in my theory but had me repeat it to my colleagues at a clergy conference.

John is not only notable for what he leaves out but for the things that appear only in his gospel. Only John tells of Jesus' first miracle: changing water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Only John tells us that immediately after Jesus fed the 5000, the people wanted to make him king. Only John tells us of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. And only John tells us about Jesus washing his disciples' feet.

People did not wear shoes in those days. And their sandals did not protect their feet from the dust and mud of the dirt roads. And remember, there weren't gutters and sewers. People threw garbage and worse in the streets. So it was traditional to take off one's sandals before entering a house. And before guests entered a rich man's house, a slave would wash their feet. Jesus is not only doing an unpleasant chore but the task of a slave.

Luke tells us that the disciples were talking about which of them was the greatest. To us, this sounds unseemly for these holy men but we have the benefit of hindsight. Look at it from their point of view. They had been worried about going to Jerusalem. Jesus was talking about dying. But when he entered the city on a colt, the people greeted him with palms and hosannas. "Hosanna" is Hebrew for "Save now!" It was the ancient equivalent of the British cheer "God save the king!" After such a display of Jesus' popularity, the disciples were probably starting to relax. Maybe Jesus was going to turn out to be the kind of Messiah everyone wanted. Certainly, they felt safer than before. Thanks in large part to Jesus' raising of Lazarus, the people are behind him. And if he is to be King of Judea, someone would have to be his right hand man. We know James and John asked to sit on the right and the left of Jesus' throne. And this made the other disciples jealous. So perhaps in response to this, Jesus deliberately displays the humility they lack.

Peter is so ashamed that he won't let Jesus wash his feet. Only when Jesus tells kim he can't be a part of him, does Peter relent. But he then goes overboard. He asks Jesus to wash his head and hands as well. Peter still doesn't get it. His request smacks of inverted pride. He trying to be humbler than thou! But Jesus tells him that since he's already bathed for the festival, only his feet need attention.

When Jesus finishes, he explains why he acted this way. He is setting an example. It's an example of a new kind of leadership: servanthood. The only leaders people knew then were those who ruled by force of arms. Julius Caesar transformed the Roman Republic into an empire by seizing power. There was no separation between military and civil power. And once in power, leadership was maintained by the ruthless exercise of that same power. One did not claw one's way to the top to serve but to be served.

Jesus turns the normal order of things upside down. The one who wants to be leader must be servant to all. Leadership is not exercised for the benefit of the leader but for the benefit of his followers. This is a radically different definition of leadership...for then and for now.

We might not think that this is unusual because we call our leaders civil servants. Yet even though they supposedly work for us, those who rise particularly high often live better than we do. Nor is corruption unknown. Servant leadership is still more of a concept than a reality in this world.

The one way in which our leaders do try to serve us is by giving us what we want--more services and lower taxes, total freedom and total security, free trade and protectionism! Well, they promise to at any rate. But for Jesus, servant leadership doesn't mean giving people everything they want but everything they need. Peter, for instance, either wanted Jesus not to wash his feet or to wash his head and hands also. Jesus says, "No. All you need is your feet washed." The servant-leader is not a slave to the desires of his followers.

In a way, it's like being a parent. If an an alien from a world that reproduced in a totally different way came to this world and observed a parent care for a toddler, it might think the adult was the child's slave. After all, she cleans, dresses, feeds and entertains the child. So it might be puzzled when she takes sharp objects away from the child, though he throws a tantrum; or when she refuses to give him dessert before he eats his vegetables; or when she plays judge whenever the toddler and his sister fight over a toy. The parent is serving the child but she is serving his best interests. She doesn't automatically give in to him. Why? Because she loves him.

We do have a curious omission in this footwashing story. John doesn't draw attention to it but Jesus must have washed the feet of Judas. We know that Jesus has worked out who his betrayer will be. And yet he washes the man' dirty feet. Would you? Would you do a demeaning chore for a person you knew was going to sell you out? Why did Jesus? Because the proper motivation for service, like parenthood, is love.

John opens this chapter by telling us that Jesus loved his disciples to the end. It doesn't say he loved all of them but Judas. Jesus told us to love our enemies. He even loved a friend who was going to stab him in the back. And perhaps he was doing more than just modeling humility. Perhaps he was trying to win Judas back.  Because not only does he wash his feet (How could Judas betray such a gentle man?) he makes Judas the guest of honor.

How do we know this? The typical way at that time for people to eat the Passover meal was reclining around a U-shaped arrangement of tables. Servants would work within the U, and could therefore distribute or clear away dishes without reaching over or between the diners. Those eating would recline on couches around the outside of the U. Their heads were near the table with their feet radiating away from the table like the leaves of fan palms. The diners reclined on their left elbows so they could eat with their right hands. (To see some pictures of this, click here.)

Jesus was the host and so he would sit on the right arm of the U (from his perspective), not in the center as Da Vinci puts him in his famous painting of the last supper. Jesus doesn't sit at the very tip of the U's arm but one seat in. That allows someone to sit on either side of the host. We know that Peter was at one end of the table because Jesus washes his feet last. But he can't be at the same end of the table as Jesus because we know John and Judas were near Jesus. John, reclining on his left arm, must lean back against Jesus' chest to ask him a question, the Bible says. So John is at the very end of the arm and has a clear view of Peter directly across from him on the other end of the U. When Jesus announces that one of them will betray him, we are told that Peter motions John to ask Jesus who it is. Jesus says it is the person to whom he gives the bread after he dips it into the stew. He gives it to Judas. So Judas must have been on the other side of Jesus and thus in the position of honor.

And in addition, it was an honor for the host to give you a piece of food. Judas would have known this. So Jesus washes his feet and makes him guest of honor at their Passover feast. He gives him a sop, a great honor. Jesus is telling Judas how much he loves him--and the man still goes and betrays him.

That is the risk of love. Love is perhaps the riskiest thing that we do. We offer our love to someone and there is always the chance that they will reject it. Or, accepting it, will go on to misuse or abuse our love. It would seem safer not to love. But without love, we wither and die. That's the paradox of life.

God offers us his love through Jesus. He offers to clean up our sins. He offers us a place at his table in his heavenly kingdom. He offers us his body torn for us and his blood spilled for us. All he asks in return is that we love him and those he created in his image, even if they're our enemies. As we approach his table this evening, let us each ask ourselves, "Have I been faithful? Have I been loving? Have I acted worthy of the great honor God has shown me? Or do I need to be washed by him before I can take my place beside him?"

The Bible Challenge: Day 87

The scriptures read are Judges 1-3, Psalm 73, and John 7.

Judges 1. In Peterson's introduction to Judges, he writes, "God, we are learning, does some of his best work using the most unlikely people." That's a good lesson to draw from this book which chronicles a kind of Wild West situation that arose between the time of Joshua and the first king of Israel.

Judah and Simeon capture and burn Jerusalem! It's part of a campaign to chase the Canaanites out of the land. They have successes but can't subdue the coastal cities. Those folks had iron chariots. Must be the latest in military equipment.

The men of Benjamin can't oust the Jebusites from living in Jerusalem with them. Up in the north they aren't having much luck getting the Canaanites or Amorites to leave either.

Scorpion's Pass! That really sounds like the Wild West.

Joshua 2. God's angel scolds the Israelites for not getting rid of pagan altars. And we are told that after Joshua and his peers all die, there arises a generation with no direct knowledge of God and what he's done for Israel. A cycle starts. The people sin, fall prey to an oppressor. They cry to God, he sends a leader (called a judge) to lead them against their enemies. But as soon as the judge dies, the people go back to their idolatrous ways. This book takes us through several of these cycles. 

Joshua 3. The first cycle involves the king of Aram oppressing the Israelites. They are delivered by the Spirit-led Othniel, nephew of Caleb. But after 40 years he dies and the people backslide. And so the cycle repeats itself.

Ehud, the second judge, assassinates a very fat tyrant in a rather gross scene. Result: 80 years of peace. Then the people of Israel...oh, you know.

Psalm 73. The psalmist speaks of a time he was tempted to follow the wicked. Their lives seemed better than the hard life the psalmist had. Then he woke up to the reality of the situation. It was a close call but now he is getting ever closer to God.

John 7. Jesus faces skepticism from his brothers. Later he does a "Prince and the Pauper" thing at the Feast of the Tabernacles and overhears the gossip as they talk about Jesus.

Jesus finally puts in an appearance at the feast. The whole thing develops into chaos as folks debate his identity. Nicodemus tries to help Jesus but is shouted down.

The Bible Challenge: Day 86

The scriptures read are Joshua 22-24, Psalm 72 and John 6.

Joshua 22. Joshua dismisses the Israelites who chose land east of the Jordan with a blessing. They go home and build a huge altar. Then the 10 tribes are all in a tizzy because they think the altar was built as a rival worship site. They almost go to war till they find out it was built, not as a functional worship altar, but more like a memorial reminding everyone that, though on the other side of the Jordan, they are God's people as well. A very instructive tale on how people can misinterpret religious symbols and make a mountain out of a memorial.

Joshua 23-24. Final admonitions from Joshua which boil down to "Stay loyal to God." He recaps briefly the events from Abraham through the conquest of the land and then tells Israel to choose what God they will follow. Joshua completes a covenant with the people.

Psalm 72. A prayer for the king that he will protect the poor and needy.

John 6. As a second Passover approaches, Jesus feeds the 5000. John tells us what they others didn't: that the crowd wanted to seize Jesus and make him king. Jesus gives them the slip, as only he can, walking on water. They catch up with him in Capernaum and Jesus gives them the "I am the Bread of Life" speech. For more on that, read my recent post on that here.  The "Eat my flesh and drink my blood" metaphor is too much for some of his disciples and they leave him. The Twelve stay loyal, though Jesus knows that one is a traitor.