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Erik Austin
5 years ago
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1 1 AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA a sermon delivered in Duke University Chapel by The Reverend Robert T. Young Minister to the University September 2, 1979 Orientation Sunday Scripture Lessons--Old Testament--Exodus 13:17-22 Epistle--Revelation 22:12-13 Gospel--Mark 4: This is a sermon about the Presence of God. The word is that God is present. The Word proclaims this truth loudly, clearly, emphatically- the message is too obvious, too consistent, too recurrent not to be true, valid, and authoritative: God is present! I have not a doubt that that is a word we need, we want, we can know- a Word God has to give you and me this morning. 1 n the beg 1 nn i ng God, Genesis records. Exodus reads, ''And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud and by n'ght in a p1 llar of fire.. the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart frcm the people. lf I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there! (Ps. 139) Mark \llrl tes, And leaving the crowd, they took him with them, just as he was, 1n the boat.. John tells us, in Jesus' words, 1 will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, to be with y: u forever, even the Spirit of truth.. he dwells with you and will be w1th you. The last words of Revelation 1nclude, 1 am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Have you ever wondered why there are so very many passages in Scripture that assure us and re-assure us that God wi never leave us or forsake us? Well, I have recently, as I have thought about the end of th1s summer and the beginning of this new year. I think this word of assurance about God's presence comes over and over to us because, for most of us, beginnings and endings are un-nerving, disconcerting, disturbing, frightening, anxietyproducing. Endings/beginnings disrupt the flow of life: that which has been is no more, that which is to be is yet unknown!

2 , ~,.!., -2- Since life is a constant, un-ending circle of beginnings/endings or endings/beginnings, who or what will sustain us, support us, uphold us? ls there anything, anyone constant and present in the midst of change, flux, transition, end1ng/beg1nning? The Word of God resoundingly says, "Yes, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." Sometime this year at some very critical, unsure, unclear, uncertain moment of change, it may be that the only thing that will sustain you or me will be the Presence of God speaking softly but assuredly, "I am the Alpha and the Omega '' "I tell you farewell, but I go with you. I will be with you- my presence will be with you." It may be a moment when you need someone and God appears. Or, you may need God, and an other appears. The Presence of God may even be one and the same - God 1 s s pirit speaking in a friend caring! But, who knows? Who knows? Yes, who knows what is a beginning and what is an ending? Can you ever be sure? Can you ever know? Does one ever know what is a beginning and what is an ending? A poster, a beautiful and inspiring one, a friend gave me this summer, really says it for us- "What appears to be the end may really be a new beginning." Who knows what it is to experience "endings"? Anybody here this morning? Anybody? Surely. Anyone Who has seen the doctor come out of the hospital room with head down and eyes filled with tears Who has stood by the grave of a loved one Who has heard the telephone click at the other end first Who has seen the last leaf on a tree in the fall Who has walked across the stage at high school graduation Who has said "Goodbye" to Mom, Dad, friends back home Who has said "Goodbye" and seen a dear friend turn and walk e.wcjy Who has seen hungry and starving children and recognized, "My neighbor" Who has seen hurricane David blow house and all goods away Who shares the agony and pain of the ending/beginning of the BolshQi ballet stars as they parted- one staying here and one going back to Russia Who has seen the sun s~t and the sky darken Who has ever heard and felt Jesus say, "It is finished.'' Who knows "endings"? We all do! You do! I do! Every child of God does. That is why God wants us to know and hear and experience his Alpha and Omega! Who knows what it is to experience "b~gi. nni. n.g's"? Anybody here today-? Anybody? Surely. Anyone. Who has seen the moon rise or a new day dawning Who has said, "Hello" to a new room-mate or greeted a new friend Who has moved in to a new room or a "home away from home" Who has reached out a hand to a stranger and made a friend - who has exchanged a glance, a touch, or a word that will last forever Who has waited for the phone to ring, the letter to arrive, the knock to sound on the door Who has received a letter saying, "You are admitted.. "

3 -3- Who has seen the curtarn rise, the door open Who has ever heard the doctor say, lt's a girl; it's a boy." Who has ever heard the words, ''I now pronounce you husband and wife '' Who has experienced the words, 1 baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Who knows beginnings"? We all do! You do! I do! Every child of God does! Surely, the Psalmist was right, "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning " (Ps. 30:5.) What really want to say this morning want to say here and now: You can't get to anywhere before the Spirit and the grace and the presence of God! That unfathomable, unbelievable, mysterious but real Presence is there- wherever there is! There is nowhere you or I can go but that God is there! Surely, as in Exodus, "The Lord goes before. " There is nothing we can do No thought we can have No feeling can come No experience can we know No moment or occasion is ever lived alone! No, the 'Alpha and the Omega" is there. There is no sickness, no trouble, no heartache, no test, no trial, no struggle, no argument, no decision, no joy, no happiness, no ecstasy, no celebration but what God is already there. You can't get to anywhere but what the Spirit of God is there before you! I used to think that, as a Christian and particularly later as a minister, I had something special I could take with me, something I could and did carry around with me that I could give to others, that somehow or other I had "it"- it being the "grace of God'." My purpose was to carry this grace or presence or spirit with me and do all I could to get others to accept it, re eive it, take it from me! How foolish of mel How pretentious and utterly foolis h of me! You cannot give the grace or presence of God to mencr can I give it to you. But, together, living, loving, caring, sharing, risking with one another, we can help each other to discover, uncover, find, come to know, understand, and experience the presence of God. The Lord is before! The Lord goes before! The Lord has gone before! The Lord is Alpha and Omega! Let us dare not think or believe that God is any place or hour or moment. God is at no time or space that can be nailed down or located. For, God simply is! In this Chapel. In your classroom or laboratory or room or home. In the library. On Sunday at :00 a.m. Or, at m 1 dn i ght Friday or 3:00 a.m. Saturday. In the Dope Shop, The Pits, Allen Building, House P, Hanes House, ATO Section, Bassett, in the C. I., in the Stadium, in the car you drive,

-4- the place you buy gas or get groceries. Wherever and whenever you fuss and argue, drink beer; make love, write letters, study, cram, read, work! Anywhere[ Everywhere( Any moment.. Every moment.

4 -4- the place you buy gas or get groceries. Wherever and whenever you fuss and argue, drink beer; make love, write letters, study, cram, read, work! Anywhere[ Everywhere( Any moment.. Every moment. You can It get to anywhere before the presence of God! The Lord goes before The Alpha and the Omega And so, life is filled with beginnings and endings. But, we all have mixed feelings about beginnings and endings. Some endings we dread and do not want them ever to come. Some endings we yearn for and pray. for. ~nd can't w~it to experience. Some beginnings we approach with unease and apprehension and anxiety. Some beginnings excite us and we look forward to them eagerly and expectantly. But, regardless how we approach them, life is filled with beginnings and endings for all of us... For, as the writer of Ecclesi-astes reminds us, For everything, there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven '' As I see i t, There is a time to speak and a time to listen;, ( a time to go away and a time to come home;. a time to dare, to risk; and a timet~ play it safe and sure; a time to move out and a time to settle down; a time to pray and a time to a'ct; a time to build up walls and a time to open up oneself; a time to be on our knees and a time to be on our feet; a ~ime to declare an end and a t~me to announce a beginning. NmAJ, this time, this day) this moment, many of you are at a very significant, important, crucial ending/beginning moment in your life. As a metter of fact, all of us are- for, we do not always know when a beginning/ending or ending/beginning moment is for us. We do not kr.ow, at the time, the meaning or significance of a closed door or open door, of a broken relationship or a new. friendship, of a lost!ob or a new career, of the last day in high school.or the first day in college. We cannot always know beginning/endings or ending/ t>eginnings. As for me, I would like to choose beginnings. So, in the name and Spirit of Christ, I invite you today to a daring, risking, exciting, prom1sing new beginning in Christ. For, it is the 'Christ who 0. '... ' ma~es a things new. Beginn1ng is that feeling, sensation, sense; movement inside, ope~ing " of eyes, tunjng of ~ars, reaching out of. hand, standing on tiptoes that says, Something is about to happen.. " Beginning is that sense of excitement, that anticipating, hoping, longing, remembering, living, and yearning! Beginning is that first drop of rain, that faint breaking of dawn's light, that first meeting of hands or hearts, that returning first glimpse of someone dear, the smile and g~eeting of a friend from across the quad, the stifring music just a~ the curtain opens, the cry of a new-born baby, the c 1 i mb to the top of a mountain, meeting a new room-mate, starting a new year, opening~ present, goint to the mailbox, waiting by the phone.

5 -s- We have all come to this moment in our lives for new beginnings. Beginning life now with -a university, professors, fellow students, friends and neighbors, experiences that will not only give us knowledge but help us gain wisdom. Beginning life today with - a church, a faith, a Service, a community, a Christ, a living Spirit, a God who accepts and loves and forgives and demands obedience. Beginning life again - to question, to listen, to demand, to become angry, to accept, to love, to condemn, to disagree, to agree, to support, to reject, to search, to rest, to hold, to be held, to cry, to laugh, to hurt, to rejoice, to be yourself- a child of God, a sister, a brother of Christ! How do we deal with Alphas and Omegas? With a simple word and prayer. Let us pray. We thank You, Lord, for beginnings and endings. We thank You that for every beginning there is an ending. We thank You that for every ending there is a beginning. We thank You for beginnings and endings, for this is the cycle of life, given for all eternity: Help us know that we are never left only with beginnings or only with endings, but are given beginnings and endings that are centered in You. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

0 DARWESH_sample IWP 2017

0 DARWESH_sample IWP 2017 Lava DARWESH POEMS These poems, these poems Are poems of a nation that strives to live These are the poems of girls who are being killed for love. These are the poems of fathers