Alpha and Omega

Emptying ourselves so we can be filled with Christ

04/01/2018

Colossians 3:1-4 Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

Are you familiar with the notion of the “alpha male”? The concept comes from the study of groups of chimpanzees or packs of wolves. Invariably, one chimp or one wolf will become the leader and subdue all challengers, and if necessary kill them. He is the Alpha Male of the group. This concept has been used to explain human interactions where one male dominates all contenders and leads the group where he wants it to go. There is only one alpha male, and by contrast, all others are “beta males,” the second string team.

There are many characteristics of alpha males, but these three seem to be the most common. As I go through these, you can check whether Dc. Greg or I possess more qualities of an alpha male here in the church. Sometimes I do feel like killing him to show who’s boss. First of all alphas are confident and competitive. Alpha males are not afraid, and they want to win at all costs, and not just win but crush their opponents. Secondly, alphas are “strong” physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. When an alpha male walks into a room, he quickly scans the room to see if any male is stronger than him. When an alpha female enters a room, she looks to see if any women are prettier than she is. Beauty is strength. Thirdly, alphas “dress for success” and know how to use body language. They believe clothes might not make the man, but clothes do make the alpha man. They carefully control how they stand, how they walk, where their eyes look, how they position their hands, and even how they shake hands. Their groomed bodies shout: “I am in charge around here.” In any room full of people, it’s easy to pick out the alpha male in the group.

If we were to hold Jesus up to the standard of an alpha male, what would we discover? I am afraid we would be rather disappointed. Was he confident or competitive? In Luke 22:42, in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus is filled with doubts and anxieties, and asks his Father to let the cup of suffering pass him by. In Matthew 20:16, Jesus taught: “the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” Not very confident or competitive. Was he strong? Jesus urges his disciples in Matthew 5:39 not to fight back, but “when someone strikes you on the right cheek turn and offer the other one to him as well.” Was he well dressed with powerful body language? We read in Mark 15:24, that the soldiers stripped him of his garments before crucifying him naked to the cross: not dressed for success. How about body language? Jesus fell three times carrying his cross and finally in Mark 15:21, Simon of Cyrene is pressed into service to carry the cross.  Isaiah 53:3 sums up Jesus’ earthly life: “He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain, like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem.”

And yet in the Book of Revelation 1:8, Jesus says: “’I am THE ALPHA and the omega…the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.” As you may know, “alpha” is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and “omega” is the last letter. Jesus, therefore, is the beginning and the end of all time. In heaven, Jesus reigns as true Alpha Male, the eternal King and universal Lord, and all rightly worship him. When he descended to earth, however, he stripped himself of his royal robes and his divine dignity, not to become a beta male, but an omega, to be the last, to be a slave.

This makes sense of our Lord’s whole life: his clandestine birth in Bethlehem, his life of obscurity as a carpenter, his career of itinerant preaching and teaching, his ignominious death on a tree, and finally his triumphant resurrection that was all but hidden from the eyes of the world. Who saw the resurrection? Nobody. If it had been me, I would have risen on Easter Sunday and gone to Dc. Greg, flexed my bulging muscles, and said, “Now, who’s the Alpha Male??” But Jesus became an omega on earth, and hid his alpha for heaven.

My friends, let me ask you: do you feel more like an Alpha or an Omega? Sometimes, when we fail at a project, or lose a job or get a divorce or are rejected by others, we feel small and insignificant. We feel far from God and others. But I would suggest to you those moments might be when you are closest to being like Christ. On the other hand, when all goes well and we are heaping successes and victories left and right, we should not conclude that make us super Christians, and God loves us more than others. It may not mean any such thing at all. Sometimes it is the omegas on earth that becomes the alphas in heaven.

In the third century, an anonymous author wrote a “Letter to Diognetus” describing ideal Christian. It said: “Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory…A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they rejoice, as if receiving the gift of life.”

That description does not sound like someone who is “confident” or “competitive” or “strong” or “well-dressed” or has “dominant body language.” In fact, the author invites Diognetus (and us) to be the opposite. On Easter Sunday, the eyes of faith teach us that Jesus is the true Alpha Male, gloriously risen, triumphantly reigning and crowned with immortality. But in the eyes of the world, he’s still just the omega.

Praised be Jesus Christ!