Setting the Spiritual Clock from Alpha to Omega and Back Again

Last updated on: November 22, 2020 at 12:51 pm by Paul Louis Metzger

Setting the Spiritual Clock from Alpha to Omega and Back Again 2020-11-22T12:51:17-08:00 Paul Louis Metzger

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Christ in Majesty (circa 1200); Creative Commons

Tomorrow many churches across the globe celebrate Christ the King Sunday. It serves as the last Sunday in the liturgical year. It was instituted in 1925 to honor Jesus’ supremacy and guard against the encroachment of secularism in every domain of life globally. Next Sunday, November 29, will be the first Sunday of Advent, which is also the first Sunday of the new Christian year. Both Sundays account for Jesus’ coming. As the Alpha who is the Omega, Jesus is coming again. We need to set our spiritual clocks and make sure our calendars orbit around him.

Everything comes full circle as the church calendar rotates around Christ Jesus from beginning to end and back to the beginning until he comes again. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13; “Alpha” and “Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet). Jesus reigns supreme for eternity with the Father in the Spirit who invites all to come and partake of eternal life (Revelation 22:17). Various Christian traditions mark their calendars to highlight Jesus’ supremacy as revealed in Scripture and enhance public worship. Such efforts safeguard against secularization’s encroachment in the church’s life.

As I write in the introduction to my new book Setting the Spiritual Clock: Sacred Time Breaking Through the Secular Eclipse, we need more than ever

to set our spiritual clocks according to the Christian calendar, which circles the radiant Son as he breaks through the secular eclipse. Just as a total or partial eclipse may reset a species’ internal clock, so secularity resets our orientation to the world. Perhaps what is even more perplexing is that we are often unaware of this secular reset. While it is incumbent upon Christians to engage the surrounding culture in an irenic, dialogical, and nonsectarian manner, we must also make sure that as the church we focus our imaginations on the glorious Christ, around which the liturgical calendar rotates, as he breaks through the secular eclipse (Cascade Books, 2020, pages 11-12).

Many Americans prize Thanksgiving festivities and are already active shopping for Christmas gifts. May we who are Christians not permit any holiday or festivity, no matter how delightful, to crowd out Jesus in our lives. When other special events and days crowd him out, we have no spiritual means available to us to face extreme challenges like economic uncertainty, political and cultural volatility, and pandemic-inspired anxieties over our mortality. Rather, those very real challenges consume our thoughts and shape our actions. We must make sure that the vision of Jesus consumes our imaginations.

Here we can take comfort from the closing chapter of Revelation, where the church facing unimaginable suffering even unto death due to persecution set their eyes on Jesus. Revelation 22 includes these words of warning and hope: “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:12-13; ESV). Robert Mounce puts the matter this way in reflecting on the words “Alpha and Omega” set forth here:

In 1:8 and 21:6 it was God who identified himself as the Alpha and the Omega. Now the risen Christ applies the title to himself. Its meaning is essentially the same as that of the two following designations – “the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” – the first of which Christ has already applied to himself in 1:17 and 2:8. The names set him apart from the entire created order. He is unlimited by time, and in that all things are found both in the Father and in the Son the attributes for the former belong to the latter as well (Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, rev. ed. {Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997}, page 407).

The various challenges we face at the end of this year are certainly weighty and must not be discounted. Still, we must place them in proper eternal perspective and not allow them to take away our love, joy, and peace. May Jesus’ eternal significance as the Alpha and Omega penetrate our darkness and eradicate our fears. Let’s set the spiritual clock to center on him. As Advent and Christ the King Sunday signify in serving as bookends to the church calendar, Jesus is coming. He is coming again!

My book Setting the Spiritual Clock: Sacred Time Breaking Through the Secular Eclipse was released in time for the Advent season. Here is a brief summary: “Various Christian traditions mark their calendars to reflect the biblical and ecclesial narrative and enhance public worship. Such efforts safeguard against secularization’s encroachment in the church’s life. Setting the Spiritual Clock serves as a guide and traveling companion for the liturgical year, which circles the glorious Son as he breaks through the secular eclipse.” You can receive a 40% discount by contacting the publisher directly at the email or phone number provided below in the flyer. You can also find on the flyer the endorsements. Please be sure to write/mention the Advent code “ADVENT20” to receive the discount (retail is $32; $40% brings the price down to $19.20). Click here to read the online sampler of the book.

Uncategorized

About Paul Louis Metzger

Paul Louis Metzger, Ph.D., is Professor of Theology & Culture, Multnomah University and Seminary; director of The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins; and author of Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church and co-author of Exploring Ecclesiology: An Evangelical and Ecumenical Introduction. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

November 14, 2020

Finding Fault? Following God’s Law to a Fault During Turbulent Political Times

Next Post

November 26, 2020 Why Should We Give Thanks to God During Thankless Times?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month June 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz