07/23/2023 ~ Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~ Proper 11 ~ Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139:1-12, 23-24; Wisdom of Solomon 12:13, 16-19 or Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 86:11-17; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Alpha and Omega
“This is what Yahweh says— the Ruler of Israel, the Redeemer of Israel, the Sovereign of heaven, Yahweh Omnipotent— “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no god.” — Isaiah 44:6
A couple weeks ago at A Time for All Ages I displayed a little globe of the earth. Since there happened to be no youngsters here that Sunday I felt it was O.K. to throw out some adult ideas, adult numbers about the earth.
I said the earth rotates at about 1,000 miles per hour. Also the earth and therefore our solar system along with us and with it, is traversing through interstellar space at about 67,000 miles per hour. I then said the number of humans currently living on this fragile globe as we hurtle along through space is 8 Billion souls.
Now, for the sake of clarity I then pointed out an easy way to tell the difference between one million and one billion. One million seconds spans approximately eleven days. One billion seconds, however, would be around 31 years. Just to pile on with the numbers game what I did not say is a trillion seconds would be about 31,000 years.
I did not say this at that time: we all know there are billionaires but it’s probably hard for us to understand that much money. Equally and for the sake of clarity, the current evaluation of Apple Computers is 3 trillion dollars. (Pause.)
When I start a class for the process of Confirmation in an effort to help those involved grasp the reality of the universe and thereby our minute place in it, I often begin with some related large numbers. The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second.
That means light travels 5.88 trillion miles in one year. The radius of the known universe is 46.508 billion light years. And as I said, each one of those light years is nearly 6 trillion miles. If all those numbers do not make our heads hurt just thinking about it, we’re doing it wrong. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah. “This is what Yahweh says— the Ruler of Israel, the Redeemer of Israel, the Sovereign of heaven, Yahweh Omnipotent— “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no god.” (Slight pause.)
We need to realize the titles of God at the start of this passage— the Ruler of Israel, etc.— are what the writer says about God. Then it is God Who says I am the first and the last. Next, please notice how this reading is laid out on the page. I hope it’s evident we are looking at, hearing some form of poetry.
But scholars tell us these words are more than just poetry. This is a lyric, a hymn. The Hebrew Scriptures have a multitude of hymns. In fact, I sometimes refer to the Book of Psalms as the hymnal of the Second Temple. (Slight pause.)
Now, some of you know this about me; others do not. I am a member of A.S.C.A.P., the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. I am a professional lyricist. The lyricist in me could do at least an hour lecture on how a lyric is different than a poem, but we don’t have that kind of time.
Briefly, a lyric must pay attention to not just what’s happening in the tempo, meter and tune. A lyric also needs to work with the chord structure which supports the tune. Indeed, the meaning, the deep emotional content of music, is found in the chords. Besides matching everything else, the words need to match that meaning, those emotions. [1]
You heard about emotions and music because of the quote from Yip Harburg in our Thoughts for Meditation— “songs make us feel thoughts.” Music, therefore hymns by definition, carry significant emotional content. That needs to be recognized. [2]
As for the hymns found in Scripture, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news: as I indicated, the Bible is riddled with songs, hymns. The bad news: we do not have a clue as to what any of that music sounds like.
And when it comes to the emotions being expressed, what God is says in this hymn is both a monologue and something of a rant. As a lyricist I need to say there are a lot of songs which are rants. In this rant a difference is drawn between God’s own self and other gods, the graven idols, being worshiped by peoples other than the Israelites.
But it’s possible, given these words were written during the Babylonian exile, that the Israelites have found the Babylonian graven images attractive. God is not pleased.
But this is more than just a rant. God presents Israel and thereby presents us with a challenge by asking tacit questions. Those questions: Who is your God? Who do you think your God is? Who do say your God is? Who do you worship?
There are other even more pointed questions implied. These include— can it be determined by your actions who God is? Can it be determined by your actions who you think or say God is? Can it be determined by your actions who you worship?
Along with those challenges, God clearly makes a statement about who God is. (Quote:) “I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no god.” (Pause.)
Recently there was a scientific breakthrough. This quote about the breakthrough is from The Washington Post. “The very fabric of the cosmos is constantly being roiled and rumpled all around us, according to multiple international teams of scientists that have independently found compelling evidence for long-theorized space-time waves.” [3]
In short, time does not march smoothly forward. Time is flexible. Ouch! Now my head really hurts. (Slight pause.)
That science brings me back to God, God Who we hear about in this passage. This is a God Who defines time, defies time, is beyond time. This is a God for Whom our human sense of what time is does… not… matter.
After all, our claim is God spoke with the Israelites, that God became incarnate with the reality of Jesus, that Jesus lives, that the Spirit is at work in our midst. I am sorry to repeat myself but if that does not make our heads hurt just thinking about it, we’re doing it wrong. (Slight pause.)
I know a church where during the Seasons of Advent and Christmas the Deacons hang two very large Greek letters— Alpha and Omega— covered in evergreen branches and lights at the front of the meeting house. Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, tells us all we need to know about Who we should be celebrating during Advent, Yuletide, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, about Who we should be celebrating throughout the year.
We celebrate God Who is both incarnate in a specific time and all time, for Whom there is no beginning or end. We celebrate God Who defines time, defies time, is beyond time, a God for Whom our human understanding of time does not apply.
The claim being made in the Scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, the claim we Christians make at Advent, Yuletide, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, throughout Pentecost, is that God transcends our understanding. This is our claim: God is eternal.
Tell me, what does that mean? How many light years is that? Can it be in any way counted? (Slight pause.)
I suspect we need to adjust out thinking about God even if that does make our heads hurt. We need to understand what we are saying, what Isaiah told us God said, is that God, Who is eternal, does not just transcend all numbers and all time. God is beyond our understanding.
Question: are we willing to live with that, live with a God Who cannot be measured, a God Who we cannot measure? Or do we want to fashion a God who is more understandable. Do we want to put God in a box. Do we want to domesticate God? Your call. Amen.
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine
07/23/2023
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is a précis of what was said: “Earlier I said the passage was a lyric, a hymn. The renowned lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II said song is what happens when the emotions being expressed are too intense to be carried by mere dialogue. Even if it makes our heads hurt we need to, as well as we are able, explore the emotional content about God found in Scripture. And Scripture is riddled with emotional content about God.”
BENEDICTION: O God, Who by the leading of a star led the people of the earth to the reality of the Christ, lead us, who know You by faith, to Your presence, to Your reality where we may see Your glory in the lost, the weary, the outcast, in each of our neighbors. Help us to see, to understand, to witness, to live lives filled with Your grace. Amen.
[1] It should be noted that the closing hymn for this service, This Is the World of God had a lyric written by the pastor.
[2] This was one of two Thoughts for Meditation for the day and was read out loud at the start of the service: “Words make us think thoughts. Music makes us feel feelings. Songs make us feel thoughts.” — ‘Yip’ Harburg, Lyricist for The Wizard of Oz
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