Alpha Dog
Sermon
Sermons On The Second Readings
Series I, Cycle C
Today we begin the first of six Sundays of revelation, that is, The Revelation to John.1 Many shy away from this final book of the Bible, placing it toward the off-the-deep-end category. Others dismiss it as, at best, the allowed metaphorical expression, and, at worst, the outrageous fantasy of one person. That person probably was John, the exiled pastor of several Asian churches. Still others avoid the book because of fear that it will tap into personal horrors or trigger negative fantasies.
We forget that all talk of what happens after life on earth is, at best, a metaphor. We can only conjecture for we have not been to the "after here." If we are primarily people overcome by the dark, then thoughts about after our earthly life turn to a review of our fears. Those who choose the light first, tend to opt for hope. It is all there in the book of Revelation, from the most scary fear to buoyant hope. The "how" of Revelation is not so important. It is the spirit of this book that returns us to hope.
Right away, John sets the tone. He writes, "To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (vv. 5-6). John could have said instead, "To him who is about to scare the wits out of us," and sent us running from the book of Revelation forever.
The letter format, one of two techniques used in Revelation, comes at the beginning and at the conclusion of the book. In between is pure drama. Apocalyptic literature was popular among Jews and Christians at the beginning of the Christian era. We, however, are not used to this imagery and drama that attempts to disclose the future.
John was concerned about the churches to whom he wrote. They were situated in the western provinces of Asia Minor. Known today as Turkey, this general region was then a mass of chaos, having been conquered by the Romans. The people of these churches suffered for their faith. They needed encouragement. They needed to know that God had a purpose for them and that God was for and with them. He wanted his churches to know that God is in charge.
God has always been in charge, from the beginning. God is in charge right now in this present time. Furthermore, God intends to be in charge in the time yet to come. These are reassuring words for anyone in the midst of chaos. These words help whether the churches are in Ephesus and Pergamum of long ago or they are in New York City on a September morning in 2001. When everything feels out of control, the question sharpens, "Who is in charge here, anyway? Someone, hear me and help!"
The lectionary reading schedule for the next six Sundays reveals six truths from Revelation. These truths are messages of hope. This is the first truth: God is the beginning and the end, God who was, who is, who is to come, the Almighty. Second, when the song of hope within us has quieted, God puts a new song into our hearts. Third, salvation belongs to God and is for all people.
The remaining truths come from the final two chapters of Revelation. God promises to be present with us making all things new. As the one who lights our way, God has a vision of healing. The sixth truth, the invitation to come, is open for anyone who wishes to receive the water of life as a gift. These readings present a healthy dose of hope.
In light of the first truth, alpha God, let us return to our dog guide team. In a class of 25 dog guides at Leader Dogs for the Blind, there is an alpha dog. Two weeks into their team training, the class went for a country-style jaunt along a walking trail. Both the dogs and their partners saw this as a true outing. Having felt confined by the rigors of town training, they found on the trail a smoothness of pace that is impossible with the constant starts and stops that street curbs require. The country walk was a release, albeit a disciplined release.
While engaged in this country walk, the woman found again her natural walking gait. It had a rhythm unlike her robotic cadence that had echoed the precise, mechanical tap of her mobility cane against a concrete path. No longer "thing-ified," she felt carefree and graceful while being led by a dog guide. This new experience returned her to a sense of wholeness. She felt like an alpha female teamed with an alpha female dog guide.
They strode together, tethered by a harness handle. Her hand felt every move of Dolley's muscles, every hesitation, and every intention. It must have been reciprocal as the dog with high wagging tail and right ear flopping caught her partner's sense of joy.
Leader Dog Dolley was the smallest of her classmates. Nevertheless, the 46-pound dog communicated clearly that she wanted to be in the lead -- not only of her partner but of all the dog guide teams they passed along the walkway, even the 90-pound Shepherd.
For the moment, she was alpha dog in spirit, moving her partner in front of first one team and then another. She would lead the pack along the concrete trail while carefully attending to the person holding her harness. They were partners. They were also reprimanded after their grand airing because they had exceeded a safe working speed. Nevertheless, it was a joy walk and did wonders for the understanding and empathy of each other's true spirit. They would maintain this exuberant work spirit throughout the life of the team.
Until Dolley began to slow in her senior years of work life, they had moments of contention for who would be alpha within their team. Unlike any other assist dog, a dog guide must have enough of the alpha spirit to lead out and to guide so as to compensate for its partner's lack of sight. However, the dog guide also needs the capacity to consent to a human command. This is a delicate balance.
Revelation 1:8, the first of the six lectionary passages from this book, reads, " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." In the Bible, Alpha and Omega, used together, are found only three times.
The two other passages also come from the assigned pericopes of Revelation in the final two chapters: From 21:6, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." From 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
From the beginning to the end of the Bible, God says to us, "I am." God started the "I am" with Moses when Moses was afraid to go do the work God had assigned him. "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am.' Further, he told Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you" ' " (Exodus 3:14). God said, "This is my name forever, and this is my title for all generations" (from Exodus 3:15).
Hear again the "I am." This time Jesus spoke them when he sent the disciples out into the world: "And remember," Jesus said, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthews 28:20).
Hear, also, John's telling later in the first chapter of Revelation about his vision of God in another form, one "like the Son of Man" who, seeing John's fright, said, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever" (from 1:13-18).
Alpha is a familiar term, alpha -- the first, the most important, alpha female, alpha male, alpha dog, alpha God. Alpha, A, is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega, ½, is the twenty-fourth letter, the last letter.
John's story in Revelation is the story of a faithful, creating, and re-creating "God who is and was and who is to come." God as Alpha and Omega is present at the start and at the finish. Let us not worry about the time line or the form of God. Only trust this about God when you meet the difficult times in your life: God is. God is at all beginnings. God is at all endings. God is everywhere in between. This is the truth of God who is Alpha and Omega.
Is it not a similar sensing of God's Alpha and Omega in our lives that returns buoyancy to our spirits? From the beginning to the ending of you and me, God is saying deep into our souls, "I am."
____________
1. I am indebted to a study of the book of Revelation led by Professor Gordon Brubacher, then at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, given at the Nebraska Conference United Church of Christ Clergy Retreat in Grand Island, September 16-17, 1994.
We forget that all talk of what happens after life on earth is, at best, a metaphor. We can only conjecture for we have not been to the "after here." If we are primarily people overcome by the dark, then thoughts about after our earthly life turn to a review of our fears. Those who choose the light first, tend to opt for hope. It is all there in the book of Revelation, from the most scary fear to buoyant hope. The "how" of Revelation is not so important. It is the spirit of this book that returns us to hope.
Right away, John sets the tone. He writes, "To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (vv. 5-6). John could have said instead, "To him who is about to scare the wits out of us," and sent us running from the book of Revelation forever.
The letter format, one of two techniques used in Revelation, comes at the beginning and at the conclusion of the book. In between is pure drama. Apocalyptic literature was popular among Jews and Christians at the beginning of the Christian era. We, however, are not used to this imagery and drama that attempts to disclose the future.
John was concerned about the churches to whom he wrote. They were situated in the western provinces of Asia Minor. Known today as Turkey, this general region was then a mass of chaos, having been conquered by the Romans. The people of these churches suffered for their faith. They needed encouragement. They needed to know that God had a purpose for them and that God was for and with them. He wanted his churches to know that God is in charge.
God has always been in charge, from the beginning. God is in charge right now in this present time. Furthermore, God intends to be in charge in the time yet to come. These are reassuring words for anyone in the midst of chaos. These words help whether the churches are in Ephesus and Pergamum of long ago or they are in New York City on a September morning in 2001. When everything feels out of control, the question sharpens, "Who is in charge here, anyway? Someone, hear me and help!"
The lectionary reading schedule for the next six Sundays reveals six truths from Revelation. These truths are messages of hope. This is the first truth: God is the beginning and the end, God who was, who is, who is to come, the Almighty. Second, when the song of hope within us has quieted, God puts a new song into our hearts. Third, salvation belongs to God and is for all people.
The remaining truths come from the final two chapters of Revelation. God promises to be present with us making all things new. As the one who lights our way, God has a vision of healing. The sixth truth, the invitation to come, is open for anyone who wishes to receive the water of life as a gift. These readings present a healthy dose of hope.
In light of the first truth, alpha God, let us return to our dog guide team. In a class of 25 dog guides at Leader Dogs for the Blind, there is an alpha dog. Two weeks into their team training, the class went for a country-style jaunt along a walking trail. Both the dogs and their partners saw this as a true outing. Having felt confined by the rigors of town training, they found on the trail a smoothness of pace that is impossible with the constant starts and stops that street curbs require. The country walk was a release, albeit a disciplined release.
While engaged in this country walk, the woman found again her natural walking gait. It had a rhythm unlike her robotic cadence that had echoed the precise, mechanical tap of her mobility cane against a concrete path. No longer "thing-ified," she felt carefree and graceful while being led by a dog guide. This new experience returned her to a sense of wholeness. She felt like an alpha female teamed with an alpha female dog guide.
They strode together, tethered by a harness handle. Her hand felt every move of Dolley's muscles, every hesitation, and every intention. It must have been reciprocal as the dog with high wagging tail and right ear flopping caught her partner's sense of joy.
Leader Dog Dolley was the smallest of her classmates. Nevertheless, the 46-pound dog communicated clearly that she wanted to be in the lead -- not only of her partner but of all the dog guide teams they passed along the walkway, even the 90-pound Shepherd.
For the moment, she was alpha dog in spirit, moving her partner in front of first one team and then another. She would lead the pack along the concrete trail while carefully attending to the person holding her harness. They were partners. They were also reprimanded after their grand airing because they had exceeded a safe working speed. Nevertheless, it was a joy walk and did wonders for the understanding and empathy of each other's true spirit. They would maintain this exuberant work spirit throughout the life of the team.
Until Dolley began to slow in her senior years of work life, they had moments of contention for who would be alpha within their team. Unlike any other assist dog, a dog guide must have enough of the alpha spirit to lead out and to guide so as to compensate for its partner's lack of sight. However, the dog guide also needs the capacity to consent to a human command. This is a delicate balance.
Revelation 1:8, the first of the six lectionary passages from this book, reads, " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." In the Bible, Alpha and Omega, used together, are found only three times.
The two other passages also come from the assigned pericopes of Revelation in the final two chapters: From 21:6, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." From 22:13, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
From the beginning to the end of the Bible, God says to us, "I am." God started the "I am" with Moses when Moses was afraid to go do the work God had assigned him. "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am.' Further, he told Moses, 'Thus you shall say to the Israelites, "I am has sent me to you" ' " (Exodus 3:14). God said, "This is my name forever, and this is my title for all generations" (from Exodus 3:15).
Hear again the "I am." This time Jesus spoke them when he sent the disciples out into the world: "And remember," Jesus said, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthews 28:20).
Hear, also, John's telling later in the first chapter of Revelation about his vision of God in another form, one "like the Son of Man" who, seeing John's fright, said, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever" (from 1:13-18).
Alpha is a familiar term, alpha -- the first, the most important, alpha female, alpha male, alpha dog, alpha God. Alpha, A, is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. Omega, ½, is the twenty-fourth letter, the last letter.
John's story in Revelation is the story of a faithful, creating, and re-creating "God who is and was and who is to come." God as Alpha and Omega is present at the start and at the finish. Let us not worry about the time line or the form of God. Only trust this about God when you meet the difficult times in your life: God is. God is at all beginnings. God is at all endings. God is everywhere in between. This is the truth of God who is Alpha and Omega.
Is it not a similar sensing of God's Alpha and Omega in our lives that returns buoyancy to our spirits? From the beginning to the ending of you and me, God is saying deep into our souls, "I am."
____________
1. I am indebted to a study of the book of Revelation led by Professor Gordon Brubacher, then at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, given at the Nebraska Conference United Church of Christ Clergy Retreat in Grand Island, September 16-17, 1994.
