The One Who is and Who Was and Who is to Come

November 21, 2021

In the Book of Revelation we hear today that God proclaims Himself as, “The Alpha and the Omega,”  “The One who is, and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”   These powerful words are to take us into a place of reflection and humility.  We are nothing without God.

This year has been like no other.  We have seen great loss of life due to a pandemic.  We have seen the polarization of special interests groups that unravel the fabric of life, and we have seen those on the extremes villainize any group that is not in agreement with them.  Although negativity abounds and is amplifying its voice, we come to the conclusion of the liturgical year challenged to glorify God, challenged to rise above to a greater Kingdom.

I find it interesting how society longs to have and use the words we know as truth.  The Marvel Studios have been offering hope through characters created with superpowers for decades.  Each individual convincingly offers hope as it destroys evil.  It is a good foundation to have hope and destroy evil.  Their newest direction uses the word “eternal”; meet the “eternals”.  It is an interesting concept but not one that is new.  We have always had the promise of what is Eternal.  We have always had a window and doorway to all things really eternal.  Our use of the word eternal, proclaimed by faith, is so far beyond what Hollywood can create, yet we must ask ourselves do we give it the proper power?  Do we believe in God’s promise to overcome all evil?  How do we reclaim everything eternal?

Our society is longing for what is eternal and we have it.  We have a Savior who may not be popular on the screen, but one who made the ultimate sacrifice to die on the cross for us.  This ultimate sacrifice has raised the dignity of all life.  His power surpasses all the extremist groups that ever existed and even those that do not exist yet.  This power is beyond imagination and our visualization of any image we can conjure up in prayer and our meditation cannot even come close to understanding the magnitude of the Almighty’s almightiness.  It is that far beyond even language itself.

On this Solemnity, we are invited to enter into an uplifted vision and be drawn into a revelation that can move our very being.  If we are to proclaim Jesus as the King of the Universe, we are to realize He is our King.  He is our Savior and we are to give Him glory.  Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel says “God called the world into being and that call goes on.  There is this present moment because God is present.  Every instant is an act of creation.”  The One who is, and who was and who is to come creates this instant for us to live in.  We are invited to be a part of this universe at this time because God intended it to be so.  This is our time to rise above what society offers and mark our passports for the Kingdom that does not belong to this world.

Father John Ouper

ADVENT IS OUR NEW STARTING LINE

Everything starts new next weekend.   Advent offers us the time to refresh our spiritual disciplines, change the atmosphere in our homes and have a purpose for all the decorations we will put up.  We have walked through amazing times and we will get through the restrictions, obstacles and challenges before us.  Have you felt like your get up and go;  got up and left?   You are not alone, but that does not have to define us.

Advent is our new starting line!  Make a commitment, gather around our vertical wreath, and seize the opportunity to pray boldly.  Advent is our time to reclaim the traditions that changed the world!  Join us.  It begins with making the first step towards the starting line. God is waiting to help us every step of the way!

Father John