Most of us are we are familiar with the Alpha and the Omega; “the beginning and the end” as the title for Jesus. These words are used to designate the comprehensiveness of God, implying that God includes all that can be. They bring to mind life, death and eternal life with the one who created us.
August is winding down, hotter than usual, but winding down none the less. As I daily fill the bird baths and refresh the garden to make sure the toads and other crawling creatures are not without moisture, I cannot help but notice that the flowers are beginning to seed, the tomatoes are ripe for picking and even the pumpkins will be ready soon enough.
Many of the birds have already left to begin yet another cycle of life -the robins, the red-winged blackbirds and even the geese are gathering in the farmers’ fields, the flock growing daily. I am blessed yet with a lone humming bird, fighting for a place to feed amongst the multitude of wasps which seem to appear in abundance in August.
As a Pastor now for more than 13 years, I am familiar with Omegas. I have lost count of the celebrations of life I have shared with families and friends, the different traditions in different cultural settings.
Death, unknown and yet to be experienced, is daunting for so many. Fear and anxiety can overshadow the promise of eternal life, without pain and suffering, which is offered to us through Jesus.
Many years ago, I was given a poem about death. It has sustained my belief in eternal life – perhaps not as we expect it to be, but life given and joyful nonetheless.
This Saturday we will celebrate a life, once again. As I make preparations for the service with the family, I read this poem once again for the peace it brings and share it now that you too might envision the beauty in the inevitable omega of all things:
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, was born January 6, 1883, in Bsharri, Lebanon.
May the peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, be yours this day and always.
Pastor Beryl DLM