Reign of Christ Revelation 1:4b-8 November 22, 2009

        Reign of Christ2009                                Revelation 1:4b-8                              November 22, 2009

When I read the Revelation verse “I am the Alpha and the Omega” I think of my home church in Long Beach, CA, where I first encountered these Greek letters.   Where we have loaves and fishes on our altar, that altar had the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet,. 
  the beginning and the end.

Sometimes it’s put together like this: with the Chi Rho in the middle for Christo (Christ).  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”

This is what we say on the Reign of Christ Sunday: that Christ reigns past, present and future with justice, mercy and extraordinary love.  Our Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson sent a letter to all ELCA congregations this week to be among us today.  It’s in your bulletin and you can listen to Bishop Hanson read it at www.elca.org. 

• The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi has shared that they are ready to deepen their relationship with the ELCA so together we can respond to malaria, HIV and AIDS.  Through this involvement the ELCA will be part of a movement that is changing the world.  Locals have said, “It’s certainly changing Malawi.”

• 3 ELCA chaplains ministered to families and an entire nation grieving the tragic shootings at the nation’s largest military base in Fort Hood, Texas.  

• In summer 2009, 37,000 youth and adults attended the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans.  Wearing orange t-shirts, they did all kinds of service projects that touched the hearts of the local people and has them talking about it still.

Bishop Hanson concludes, “These are just a few examples. Think of the signs of the Holy Spirit pouring out through your congregation!” Most recently we can think of last night’s concert here by Mark Friedman raising funds for the Torres Shelter.  Thanks be to God for the Spirit’s work among us. Then Hanson reports that because of reduced financial resources for mission, we have had to do the difficult job of reducing the budget by 10 percent, but that does not diminish our commitment to being a part of God’s mission in the world.”

He ends his letter: “The apostle Paul wrote that where the Holy Spirit is poured out upon us, hope abounds and hope does not disappoint us (Ro.5). With hope in Christ, we face the future together as the ELCA, serving the world that God so loves.” 

On this Reign of Christ Sunday it is good to reflect on what this hope means in our daily lives. Some of you have heard me tell this story before, but it still moves me when I recall the experience I had this summer when Reg and I were visiting friends in Doha, Qatar (near Saudi Arabia).  Qatar is an Islamic country.  Mosques are within walking distance of everywhere because practicing Muslims are called to prayer 5 times a day.  Wherever they are – in shopping centers, at school, at work – when the sound calls, they swiftly go to the nearest Mosque. 

Reg and I and our friends had just arrived at the shopping mall when sounds bellowed forth from overhead.  People came from every corner briskly heading towards the shopping center Mosque.  And I’m still surprised by my reaction.  I welled up in tears wishing some bell was chiming for me to come and gather with others to pray in the middle of the day. 

Where was my community?  Where were my fellow believers?  How were we taking our faith seriously?  Who was asking me to stop what I was doing and remember God at 1:00 on Tuesday afternoon?  What really got to me was thinking about how difficult it is for us Christians to gather even once a week – let alone 5 times a day. 

But I hungered for it – not to come out of some fear of punishment if I didn’t or because some law required it, but out of desire for relationship with God who loves us more than we’ll ever know.  Reg and our friends had gone into the mall but I stood there in the parking lot, welled up with longing to be called to prayer. 

And this did happen when we were in New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering.  A theme verse for the event was Acts 4:24 where it says “they gathered together for prayer.”  Every afternoon at 4:24 – wherever the 37,000 of us were, we were asked to stop right then for one minute and pray.  And it didn’t always happen perfectly, but it did happen.  I remember one time we were walking on the sidewalk and someone had set their watch to beep at 4:24.   We stopped and so did other groups.  All over New Orleans, 4:24 was a call to prayer.

We do this every week here at Faith Lutheran on Tuesdays at 4:00.  Centering Prayer meets every week, all year round, at 4:00 on Tuesday in our Prayer Room.  But it’s become a habit for some so whether they are able to be there or not, 4:00 on Tuesdays is a time for prayer.  You can join that 4:00 hour too – in the Prayer Room or wherever you are.

Prayer is one way to practice allowing God to reign in our lives, not the shopping mall, or our jobs, or our recreation, or even our family.  God reigns.  As scripture says, “Seek first God’s reign and righteousness, and all things else will be added unto you.”  And with prayer, there are other ways of putting God first.  There is a commitment to corporate worship even with busy lives.  There is openness for Bible Study and spiritual growth groups.  There is willingness to be of service to others and serving on committees and boards, and being compassionate, patient and caring at work, at home and at school.

And why not let God reign?  The God we meet in Jesus Christ is a God so loving and self-giving we cannot fully comprehend it.  It is overwhelming, really, how much God loves us.  We are not promised rose gardens, though some of us have them.  We’re not promised easy lives or perfect health, though we’d like that. But what is promised by our loving God is attentiveness. 

Yes, God promises to be attentive – to us.  We have God’s ear, the Psalmist says.  God, the Alpha and the Omega, listens for our prayers and yearns to do us good and then asks us to “love one another as I have loved you.” 

Today is the last Sunday of the Church Year.  My hope as we open a new year next Sunday – the First Sunday of Advent – is that this new year will be one of deepened spiritual growth for us here at Faith Lutheran.  Growth in being who God calls us to be as individuals and as Christ’s body the church. To be Christ’s body is to be broken open and shared for the life of the world.  To follow Christ is to be cross-shaped. 

How will God break us open for the life of the world?  I hope we will all be listening for God’s lead and delight.  And as a sign of our desire for mutual relationship with our God who loves us, I hope we will increase our attendance at worship by at least 10% in this new church year.

As Bishop Hanson wrote in his letter, where the Holy Spirit is poured out, hope abounds, and hope does not disappoint us.  If we are not feeling hopeful, about our world, our lives, our church, it’s a good time to ask God to acquaint us more with the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit blows where it wills and is not under our control or anyone else’s.  Christ reigns.  God’s will, will be done.  And how much more fun it is when it is also done through and among us!

Amen

   +Pastor Peg Schultz-Akerson, to the glory of God
Faith Lutheran Church, Chico, CA