The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem
We’re taking a different approach with daily reflections each day between now and Christmas Day.
Today’s focus is the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end.
While everything we do is fixed in time, Jesus exists, and has always existed, outside of time.
There’s a good deal of comfort in that.
We always have new beginnings to look forward to. A new week, a new month, a new year. Sometimes it’s a new job or a new home, or a new relationship.
But we also have endings. A job ends. For an actor a show ends. A season ends.
And of course, life ends, my wife and I said goodbye to no less than fifteen close associates or family members in 2021. We got a little weary with funeral notices.
There’s also a great deal of comfort in knowing that because Jesus stands outside of our concept of time, nothing surprises him.
I particularly like to remember that when I screw up, which is more often than I care to admit.
We’re on our way to Bethlehem where this part of the story begins.
UPDATE: While I don’t do Biblical proof-texting, I also don’t believe in coincidence. My regular reading this morning included the following:
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.
Revelation 1:17