The Beginning and The End

^{The following is a sermon that I preached at Pinetops Presbyterian Church on November 22, 2015 (Christ the King Sunday). I share it in part because I realized I haven't shared any of my sermons recently, but also because it is totally different from what I usually do. I hope you enjoy!}

⁴John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, ⁶and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen. ⁸“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Revelation 1: 4-8

Today, we stand waiting. Which is a bit ironic if you ask me since Advent, the season of waiting, begins next week. Today, we stand waiting-- for the culmination of the greatest story ever told.

Today, we reflect on all that Christ is and was, and all that Christ has promised to be.

Today, we stand at the end of the documented story. Today, we stand at the beginning of our story.

Today, as we look forward to the plans for decorating the sanctuary and inviting our loved ones into our homes, we look back in time. We remember not the quiet moments in the stable that we will begin to prepare for next week, but instead the quiet moments in the upper room, in the garden, on the hill, and at the tomb.

Today, we stand in completeness with members of the Church in all times and spaces.

Today, we stand incomplete, wondering what is next.

Today, we begin with the blessing from the end.
"Grace and Peace to you."

Today, we prepare for the one who is, who was coming, and is coming. The one who is eternal. The one who is immutable.

Today, we stand -- for Christ, for God's Kingdom, for our past, for our future.

That night in the upper room, Christ spoke not just to those who gathered beside him but with those who would gather in new spaces and places. That night, Christ gathered with the broken and the scared.

As Christ broke bread and as Christ prayed, Christ waited. Christ waited for his own end. Christ waited for the new beginning. Christ still waits, looking on and acting within each one of us. Christ waits with us, waiting to see our end. Waiting to see the beginning of God's Kingdom.

As Christ died, they waited -- for the Sun to come up again, so they could anoint him at his end.  They wept and they pled with the Father. They journeyed beside one another, walking to the end, but found the beginning. The darkness of the tomb brought the light of new life.

As Christ said his goodbyes, they greeted the new story.

Today, we stand with them -- Christ's followers of ages past -- waiting as we look into the future, preparing the way for Christ to come again. We wait as we 

prepare the way for the followers yet to come.

We wait in peace.

                             We wait in chaos.

                                                              We wait in fear.

                                                                                          We wait in grace.

                   We wait, because we know that we wait for the One who is.

Ego Eimi, The Lord said, I AM.

I AM the God of your ancestors who crossed the dry deserts and parted the waters. I AM the God of your children who will bring me to their own in a new way.

Ego Eimi, The Lord said, I AM.

I AM coming, just as I have come.

Ego Eimi, The Lord said, I AM.

I AM the one who ALL will look to-- those who followed, those who persecuted -- those lept for joy, those who ran in fear -- those who came to believe in their first breath, those who believed in their last.

Today, we wait.

                   Today, we pray.

                                      Today, we yearn.

                                                                Today, we remember.

                  

Today, we come together in our brokenness and leave unified.

Today, we are the Church of the past, the present, and the future.

Today, we celebrate the beginning of the story.

Today, we act to usher in the end of the story.

Christ taught us in the beginning, so we can teach others in the beginning of the end.

                   Our words and our silence,

                                      Our refrain and our action,

                                                         continue the story as we wait.

We do not wait in silence.

          We wait in exaltation!

                                      We do not wait in mourning.

                                                We wait in celebration!

                                                                                 We do not wait in fear.

                                                                                 We wait in anticipation!

GOD is the One.

CHRIST is the One.

The HOLY SPIRIT is the One.

WE, filled with the love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, share the One with the world.

Today, as we wait --

          Today, as we prepare --

                   Today, in the end --

                             Today, in the beginning --

                                              We are made one in the ONLY One

                                                     Who is the true beginning and the true end.