The Alpha and the Omega

Homily for the Seventh Sunday of Easter (The Solemnity of the Ascension)

Throughout the Season of Easter, the C Cycle of the Lectionary for Sunday Mass has included a reading from the Book of Revelation for each Sunday. Because many of the bishops of the United States have decided to celebrate the Ascension on Sunday, most Catholics in the U.S. will miss the last reading from the Book of Revelation; but because I have been using the Book of Revelation as the basis for my homilies during the season, I have decided to use this final reading rather than the reading from the solemnity of the Ascension. To omit it would be like leaving the final chapter of a murder mystery unread.

The verses we hear today are the final verses of the entire Bible. We hear the final revelation, the last unveiling, as Jesus himself speaks to John. Thus, the opening verses and the final verses of this book are both in the voice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. As he did in chapter one, Jesus identifies himself as the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. By designating himself in this way, Jesus reminds us that he was present with God at the creation of the universe; and, through the Mystery of the Incarnation, he also brings the story of God’s plan of salvation to its conclusion. Even today, as the world has grown more and more secular, we still date our history using the birth of Jesus into this world. The Hebrew Scriptures tell us of the time before “Before Christ” (B.C.). Christians throughout the world also use the designation “Anno Domini” (the year of our Lord) or “A.D.” to number each successive year since the birth of Jesus. Jesus is truly the beginning and the end, the one who was and who is and who is to come.

In addition to identifying himself, Jesus also identifies those who follow him. We are the ones who are admitted to the holy city, the New Jerusalem, through its gates. He tells us that his followers have washed their robes, an allusion to our baptism when we were given a white robe to signify that through this sacrament we had died with him and will rise with him on the last day. Those who wear the white robe of baptism are given access to the Tree of Life, the tree that grew at the center of the Garden of Eden. When Adam sinned, he and his helpmate, Eve, were expelled from the garden and lost their access to God. However, through baptism, we have been washed clean of that sin and have regained access.

Jesus then tells us that it was he who sent the angel to John who then guided John through a series of visions which unveiled the Paschal Mystery. Though the Book of Revelation was written at a time of great distress and persecution, Jesus has revealed that his death has won him victory over death itself. Those who have come to believe in Jesus, have nothing to fear in death. Death itself has been defeated for those who place their faith in the Lord Jesus.

The final verses of today’s vision find the Church and the Spirit in prayer, each of them calling for Jesus’s second coming. These verses not only bring this particular vision to a conclusion, they also bring the entire book of the Christian Scriptures to its conclusion. Unbelievers would question us about Jesus’s response to that prayer when he says, “Yes, I come very soon.” It has been two millennia since these visions were recorded by John. By any stretch of the imagination, could this be regarded as “very soon”? The answer to that question lies in the mystery of God itself. God has no beginning, nor does God have an end. God is only now. We human beings are trapped in time and space. Each day is numbered, each hour is counted, each minute and second is recorded. For God, time does not exist, there is only one time – the eternal now. This is where we are living today. Through our faith in Jesus, we enter into the eternal now of God and look forward to the day when we will be standing before the throne of the Lamb who was slain and the Creator of the universe, singing God’s praises.

Each successive generation has had to find its way through difficult times. Each of us has been challenged to carry a personal cross, chosen for us by God as a way for us to enter into the plan of salvation. We all look forward to the day when we will join the Angels and the elders of heaven, when we will join the white robed army of martyrs, when we will sing our “hosannas” to our Creator God, our Savior, and the Spirit who dwells within us. With the entire Church, we pray, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”