Chasing Ghosts

Being present to Jesus and thereby more present to ourselves

04/15/2018

Luke 24:35-48 The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them  in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.

I recently learned a new vocabulary word that our teenagers have probably known for a long time. The word is “ghosting.” Have you heard that term before? The definition of ghosting reads: “The practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication.” In Fort Smith we call that “switching parishes.” Some parishioners have become ghosts to me. Have you ever abruptly cut-off all ties with someone? Ghosting means that you’ve disappeared off their radar, like a ghost, and vanished from their lives. Now, ghosting does not occur accidentally or gradually, like how you lose contact with a high school or college friend over the years. Rather, ghosting is immediate and intentional.

But have you ever thought you could “ghost” yourself? What I mean is have you ever felt like a stranger to yourself, uncomfortable in your own skin? Have people raised an eyebrow at you and said: “He’s not acting himself lately,” we might have lost communication with our better selves. This was precisely the problem that Ishmael faced in Herman Melville’s famous novel called Moby Dick. Ishmael joins a whaling expedition not only to catch “Leviathan,” the notorious whale called “Moby Dick,” but really to catch himself. At the beginning of the tale, Ishmael ponders the deeper meaning of water. He asks: “Why is almost every robust healthy boy with a robust healthy soul in him, at some time or other crazy to go to sea?...Why did the old Persians hold the sea holy?...And still deeper the meaning of that story of Narcissus, who because he could not grasp the tormenting mild image he saw in the fountain, plunged into it and was drowned. But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans (he means our own faces). It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life, and this is the key to it all” (Moby Dick, 4-5).  You might recall the Greek myth of Narcissus (from which we get the term “narcissism”) where a handsome young man sees his reflection in a pool of water and falls in love with himself. But when he tries to touch that image he falls in the pool and drowns. Ishmael set sail because he was willing to take the chance of falling in the ocean and drowning in order to touch his true self. He was tired of “ghosting” himself.

In the gospel the apostles wonder if Jesus has “ghosted” them. With his death on the Cross, had our Lord abruptly and intentionally cut off all communication with his closest friends? As if to answer that exact question, Jesus says to them: “Touch me and see, because a ghost – a ghost – does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” In other words, I am not “ghosting” you guys anymore! In fact, I want to establish an even closer contact with you than when I was alive. But in reuniting with Jesus – and this is the bigger point – they also discover their better selves. Jesus reveals to them their deepest identities when he declares: “You are witnesses of these things.” You are apostles and the bishops of my Church. Only when Jesus was no longer a ghost to the apostles were they no longer ghosts to themselves. In finding Christ, they had found themselves.

My friends, I would suggest to you that Ishmael and the apostles are not the only ones who have embarked on a journey of self-discovery, so have we all. In a sense, you could say we are all “chasing ghosts,” especially our own ghosts because we’re not quite in full possession of ourselves, our true selves. As Mathew Kelly might say we are searching for “the best version of ourselves.” I am convinced that we will not find ourselves by looking in the mirror, like Narcissus, but by looking for Jesus.

Lately, we have witnessed some very dramatic examples of people who touched Jesus and thereby found their better selves. Jesus was no longer a ghost to them, he became real to them. On Easter, seventeen adults became Catholic and touched Jesus in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion. On Friday and Saturday, over a hundred teenagers received Confirmation and touched Jesus, and Jesus touched them. On May 26 and June 2 eight men will be ordained as priests for the Diocese of Little Rock, and one of them, Fr. Stephen Elser, will come here as our new associate pastor. Jesus will say to those newly ordained priests the same thing he said to the first apostles: “You are witnesses of these things.” The heart of all healthy spirituality can be summed with this statement: when Jesus is no longer a ghost to us, we cease being ghosts to ourselves. When Jesus becomes more real to us, we become more real to ourselves.

In 1979 the classic rock group, Little River Band, released one of their biggest hits called, “Cool Change.” It could have been the theme song for Ishmael in Moby Dick because it, too, reflects on how water helps us get in touch with ourselves. Imagine Ishmael singing these words: “If there's one thing in my life that's missing / It's the time that I spend alone / Sailing on the cool and bright clear water / It's kind of a special feeling / When you're out on the sea alone / Staring at the full moon, like a lover.”

Only when we fall in love with Jesus, can we reestablish contact with everyone and everything else, the albatross and the whales, and even ourselves. Only then we are no longer chasing ghosts.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Saints Next Door

Learning to embrace middle class of holiness

04/13/2018

            John 6:1-15 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. The Jewish feast of Passover was near. When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.

Just when I think I’m overworked, exhausted and need a vacation, I check the Vatican website and see that Pope Francis has written another major document, an apostolic exhortation called Gaudate et exsultate (meaning “Rejoice and be glad”). Doesn’t this guy ever sleep? And Pope Francis is 81 years old, long past retirement age for most mortals.

The document describes the universal call to holiness as something for everyone, not just super Catholics. Everyone has to be holy. Let me share a particularly poignant section. The Holy Father reflects: “Nor need we think only of those already beatified and canonized…I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to raise their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile (like Sr. Mary Sarto!)…Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbor, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them ‘the middle class of holiness’”(Gaudate, 6, 7). Pope Francis certainly knows how to turn a phrase to capture a concept. Middle class holiness is for everyone.

The gospel of John serves up a delicious example of the saints next door in the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. When the apostles confront the daunting task of feeding the multitudes, all they can find for a solution is a young lad with five barley loves and two fish. They’re tempted to dismiss the little fellow’s bounty saying, “But what good are these for so many?” Jesus, however, does not miss this diminutive saint next door, and accepts the little lad’s gifts. The small boy steps onto the stage out of the shadows, plays his part, and immediately afterwards recedes into the recesses of the hungry crowd, never heard from again. He is what Pope Francis means by the middle class of holiness, and such people are all around us.

I think it’s a real temptation in the spiritual life to write off holiness because we think we will never be canonized a saint (and we probably won’t!). But that doesn’t mean we cannot be holy. We struggle with stubborn sins like sex and alcohol, we don’t always make it to Sunday Mass, we lose our patience with our kids and our coworkers, and so we want to throw in our rosaries and ask exasperatedly, “Why bother being good?” That is why Pope Francis wrote this exhortation: because we can still do small things and be the saints next door. Middle class holiness is within everyone’s reach.

Like the anonymous little boy in the gospel, our parish is filled with the saints next door. Our Eucharistic ministers who take Holy Communion to the sick in the hospitals and homes, our dedicated school teachers who instruct students with love and wisdom, our catechists who diligently prepare the young and the old to receive the sacraments with devotion, our cheerful church staff that does so much that often goes unnoticed and unappreciated, those who drop their dollars quietly and clandestinely in the poor box, Fr. Pius who’s retiring but still wants to serve. This is middle class of holiness and each of these people is happy to be of some service while eschewing the limelight. They step on the stage to perform their sacrificial service and just as promptly recede into obscurity, like the little boy in the gospel.

Several years ago the pope talked about retirement. I’m glad he gets tired sometimes too like me! He said very candidly: “The one thing I would like is to go out, without anyone recognizing me, and go to a pizzeria to eat pizza.” And that is exactly the attitude of middle class holiness.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Co-Creatorship

Appreciating our role as co-creators with God

04/09/2018

Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end." Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

Ever since God created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, he destined them to be co-creators with him. After all, Genesis 1:27 explains that God made the first man and woman “in his image and likeness.” If he creates, therefore, they too will create in their own way; creating was hard-wired into their DNA. Man and woman can’t help but create: from the stick-figure drawings of a kindergartner to the paints of Rembrandt, from a little girl’s pretend tea party to Emeril who cooks for a living on television (“bam!”), from a young man who writes poetry for his girlfriend (“Roses are red, violets are blue…”) to Dante’s immortal Divine Comedy, we are created to be co-creators.

Etienne Gilson, the brilliant French philosopher, put the matter this way: “It is God who fecundates our thought by His Word; nor is He only the interior master as a voice that whispers in the ear of the mind, He is the light whereby it sees, and more still, He is its food, as bread in the mouth; and more, the living seed that enters the womb of thought, espouses and fecundates it that it may conceive the truth” (The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy, 137). In other words, our acts of creation are always dependent on divine assistance, from beginning to end. Nowhere does this dependence shine more brightly than when a husband and wife conceive a child. Husband and wife each provide 23 chromosomes for the “material side” of the human person, but God alone supplies the soul, the “spiritual side” of a person. We reach the heights of our calling to be co-creators when we have a baby.

On March 25 every year the Church celebrates the Annunciation, when Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary. This year the feast falls on April 9 because it was bumped due to Holy Week and Easter Week. Jesus had to be crucified before he was conceived this year! If conceiving a child is the highest mountain range of human achievement, then Mary’s virginal conception of Christ is the summit of that range. Notice how Mother Mary’s words echo the total dependence on God that Gilson described. After Gabriel announces how God will cooperate in the conception of his Son in her womb, Mary humbly replies: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Save only for the work of Christ himself, humanity never stood taller or achieved anything more of lasting glory than when Mary accepted the annunciation of the angel. No one was a more sublime co-creator than the Blessed Virgin Mary because she took part in the creation of her own Creator.

I think we can cull out two important consequences from this brief reflection on co-creatorship. First, everyone without exception is called to create, to some degree and in some fashion. Not one human being has entered this world but in the image and likeness of God. As the bumper-sticker teaches: “God don’t make junk.” Hence, we should accord each other the dignity of being co-creators, and respect and reverence one another, no matter how humble someone’s circumstances.

Secondly, we have no room or right to boast of all our accomplishments. When Ed Seiter sets up for Spring Festival, when Suzanne McGraw takes Communion to the sick in the hospital, when Leo Anhalt builds a monastery, when Laverne Neihouse sews Fr. Pius’ alb, when Fr. John puts people to sleep in his looooooong sermons, we cannot take too much credit because we are only CO-creators, we are not the masters of our masterpieces. We can repeat the words of Mary, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord.”

One day an arrogant atheist scientist wanted to challenge God on creation. He boasted: “We have learned how to create human beings now, and so no longer need you.” God replied, “Oh, really?” “Yes,” said the atheist, “we can even create people from the dirt like you originally did.” “Watch this!” rejoiced the atheist as he bent down to gather dirt. God quietly said: “Get your own dirt.”  In heaven, all atheists and scientists (and everyone else) will say like Mary: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Hell There Is

Learning to appreciate the reality of and reasons for hell

04/07/2018

Mark 16:9-15 When Jesus had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either. But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

You may have heard some rumor or reporting in the news that the pope said there is no hell. Let me help clarify those comments by providing a little context. On Holy Thursday, March 29, Pope Francis had a private – private – conversation with an Italian reporter, Eugenio Scalfari, a 93-year old self-professed atheist, and a friend of the pope. That conversation was not intended to be an interview for public consumption, but that did not sway Scalfari from publishing an article the following day based on his recollections of that conversation (he did not tape it or take notes).

According to Scalfari’s recollection, he asked Pope Francis what happens to the souls of sinners when they died. And again, according to Scalfari’s memory, the pope answered: “They’re not punished. Those who repent obtain forgiveness and enter the ranks of those who contemplate [God], but those who don’t repent and can’t be forgiven disappear. A Hell doesn’t exist, what exists is the disappearance of sinning souls” (“Vatican says interview in which Pope doubts Hell not a ‘faithful transcript,” Crux Now, March 29, 2018). On the surface those words certainly seem controversial and contradict Catholic teaching. Hence, the Vatican quickly denied that comment, saying it was merely “the fruit of [Scalfari’s] own reconstruction.” Nonetheless, since it was put in print not a few people believed it, maybe some even secretly hoping there is no hell. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Instead of debating the authenticity of the pope’s comments, let me list five things Catholics believe about hell. First of all, no one taught more about the truth of hell in the New Testament than Jesus himself. Take perhaps the most dramatic instance of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25. Jesus describes his own glorious return at the end of time, when he will separate all humanity putting the sheep on his right, who go to heaven, and placing the goats on his left, who go to “eternal punishment (Mt. 25:46). To deny the existence of hell would empty our Lord’s teaching of much of its most compelling content.

Secondly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church is emphatic on the existence of hell. We read: “The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.” It continues: “Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishment of hell, ‘eternal fire’” (Catechism, 1035). To deny the existence of hell would be tantamount to saying the Holy Spirit has misguided the magisterium of the Church on a basic Christian belief. Furthermore, it would throw egg in the face of the saints and scholars who taught this truth for two thousand years.

Thirdly, what do we celebrate during Holy Week, especially the Sacred Triduum, but Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection? But why should our Lord have to suffer such torments if he was not saving us from something as terrible as hell? If the souls of sinners simply disappeared after death, why be whipped mercilessly by cruel chords, spit upon by self-righteous soldiers, blithely rejected by your own people, and finally nailed naked to a tree for all to see? Denying the existence of hell makes a mockery of our Lord’s passion and death, as if he died for nothing.

Fourthly, Jesus’ final command to his apostles is recorded in today’s gospel. He said: “Go into the whole would and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15). The apostles testified to the Gospel not only with their words and actions, but also by their death, which were always cruelly conceived by their persecutors. St. Peter was crucified upside-down, St. Andrew was crucified in the shaped of an “X,” St. Paul was beheaded in Rome, St. Bartholomew was skinned alive, and so forth. Would it make much sense that they would suffer these tortures (like Jesus did), if there were not terrifying consequences for unbelief? In other words, one reason the Gospel is such “good news” is that it saves us from the really “bad news” of the eternal consequences of our sins, namely, hell. What motivated the apostles was not only the hope of heaven but also the fear of hell.

Fifthly and finally, a word about the power of the pope, or rather the limits of his power. Catholic Christians do not believe the pope is omnipotent (all-powerful) nor is he omniscient (all-knowing), instead he is an infallible instrument when he teaches authoritatively on matters of faith and morals. That infallibility does not apply when he’s having a casual conversation over a glass of chianti with a friend whom he’s trying to help love the Lord. The pope’s primary purpose is always twofold: to safeguard the deposit of faith and to be a sign of the unity of the Church. As he fulfills one function, he should not forget the other.

In the end, we can liken the pope’s power to something like that of a newspaper reporter. The old adage teaches: a good newspaperman only reports the news, he doesn’t create it. The pope doesn’t create the truth, he merely proclaims it. That’s something our friend, Mr. Scalfari, would do well to remember too.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

The Faith Business

Seeing Jesus’ grace and goodness in our successes

04/05/2018

Acts of the apostles 3:11-26 As the crippled man who had been cured clung to Peter and John, all the people hurried in amazement toward them in the portico called "Solomon's Portico." When Peter saw this, he addressed the people, "You children of Israel, why are you amazed at this, and why do you look so intently at us as if we had made him walk by our own power or piety? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus whom you handed over and denied in Pilate's presence, when he had decided to release him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong, and the faith that comes through it has given him this perfect health, in the presence of all of you.

Yesterday we announced publicly that Trinity Junior High would buy the building and land it currently leases from the Benedictine Sisters. Hopefully, there’ll be an article in the paper today. This purchase allows Trinity to enjoy greater stability and sustainability, and for the Sisters to have the funds to build their new monastery. All this was made possible thanks to a very generous matching gift of $2,500,000 by one benefactor. As we celebrated the occasion yesterday I tried to remind everyone that this really isn’t about land or money or even a new monastery, but about faith. We only make all this effort so more people can come to faith in Jesus: more teenagers in a Catholic school and more sisters in a monastery and through them all whom they serve. At the end of the day, it’s about faith.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter is trying to remind the people that faith was the key ingredient of the cure of a crippled man. He tells the people not to applaud the apostles’ “power or piety,” instead he urges them: “by faith in Jesus’ name, this man, whom you see and know, his name has made strong, and the faith that comes through it has given him this perfect health, in the presence of you all.” The people were getting distracted by the marvelous miracle and forgetting faith, like maybe a few people might have forgotten that in yesterday’s announcement. But in the end what counts, and what lasts, is faith.

My friends, as you go through life you will also see wonders and miracles. A few examples of such miracles are the birth of a baby, or the day of your wedding, or the ordination of eight men as priests this year for our diocese, or buying a new house or getting a matching gift of $2,500,000 or any success or achievements you enjoy. While you celebrate these marvelous moments, also try to look at them through the eyes of faith, and see how Jesus is present in them. It is always his grace and goodness that makes possible anything worth-while that we accomplish. And, like St. Peter and the apostles, be careful not to take too much credit for them, but give all the glory to God. Like we said yesterday: we are not in the real estate business, we are in the faith business.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Milestones that Matter

Keeping our eyes on the Resurrection as our ultimate milestone

04/04/2018

Luke 24:13-35 That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus' disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Are you familiar with the term “milestones”? Let me tell you where the word originated and it will give you a good idea of its meaning. It is a conflation of two words – mile and stone – originally used in the Roman Empire. In Latin, these milestones were called “milliarium.” You will remember how the Roman Empire covered most of the known world, and it was interconnected with an intricate web of roads that provided easy and safe travel. Occasionally along the road, a large stone obelisk was erected to mark the road and inform travelers about the distances from one city to the next, so you knew where you were within the Empire.

In the modern “American Empire” where we live, we see not “milestones” but mile markers as you travel along United States interstates. Last Monday I was traveling back from Little Rock and I saw mile markers along the side of the road. When I saw mile marker 97 what did that tell me? I knew I was 97 miles from the western border of Arkansas, where I would enter Indian Territory. Those mile markers are calculated to tell you the distance remaining to the western or southern state line throughout the United States. The basic purpose of a milestone is to tell you if you are making progress. As you pass each milestone, you are getting closer to your destination.

In the gospel of Luke we hear about the single greatest milestone in all of human history – the day of the Resurrection. Luke 24 recounts a famous walk two disciples took on Easter Sunday from Jerusalem to Emmaus, about seven miles. They probably saw a Roman “mile stone” (an obelisk) along that road! But suddenly Jesus comes alongside and walks and talks with them. That evening they “break bread together” which is New Testament code language for the Mass or Eucharist. As they passed those Roman milestones on the road making steady progress to Emmaus, they were also steadily progressing spiritually in knowing Jesus until they reached their destination and their eyes were opened and they recognized him fully. In other words, milestones not only mark our progress on earth (like how close we are to Fort Smith), but they also mark our progress in the spiritual world (like how close we are to Jesus).

Boys and girls, we all experience milestones that tell us we are making progress in life. Our ninth graders will graduate in May, a big milestone in their academic journey. Some of you may achieve a degree in medicine and become a doctor, like several graduates of Trinity have. Some of you will reach the milestone of marriage, or if you’re really smart, you’ll become a priest or a nun! Today, Trinity Junior High reaches a milestone in our history as a school. We will announce that we are buying this property from the St. Scholastica Sisters. We will no longer be renters, we will be owners of this entire building. Imagine the feeling of moving from living in an apartment to buying your own home, then you will understand why Dr. Hollenbeck feels so happy today. We have reached a huge milestone in our history, and we are making great progress as a school.

But we should never forget that the real milestones are those spiritual ones, like the two disciples enjoyed walking with Jesus to Emmaus. Pay attention as you go through life observing your earthly milestones – ninth grade graduation, marriage, priesthood, buying a home, etc. – but also keep your eyes open to the progress you making spiritually in recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread, at the Mass. Real progress is spiritual growth, where you recognize who Jesus really is. The greatest milestone in the history of the world was the Resurrection, and in the end that will be the only milestone that matters.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

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!