Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

This passage comes near the beginning of the strangest book of the Bible- the “revelation of Jesus Christ” which God made known to John, who was exiled on the island of Patmos. It was written as a letter of encouragement to first century Christians who were suffering intense persecution. Jesus would return and achieve the final victory over evil, suffering, and death. During Advent, we look back to Jesus’s birth, and we look forward to Jesus’s return.

Growing up in a non-church family, I remember Christmas as a time of anticipation and wonder: what gifts would be waiting in a pillowcase at the foot of my bed when I awoke Christmas morning, often at 4:00 a.m.? After coming to faith, Christmas took on a new meaning; we’re celebrating God coming to earth as one of us, living among us. It was later that I came to understand the fuller meaning of the Advent season—that we await the one “who is to come,” just as the people of Israel waited centuries for the coming of the Messiah.

We live in a troubled world, in a time of deep political, social, racial, and geographic divisions. Many of us either “doomscroll” the daily bad news in our news silos or escape through cute, YouTube cat videos. I tend to be a doom-scroller and am often pessimistic about our shared future. I need the perspective of this scripture: the Lord God is the Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end. Jesus came, Jesus died and was resurrected, and Jesus is coming again—he is, he was, and he is coming again. Most importantly, he is “the Almighty.” Despite what we see all around us--the lack of peace--Jesus is our shared future. Lord, help me to truly embrace that reality this Advent season and eagerly anticipate your return, just as I anticipated a pillowcase full of gifts so long ago.

Kevin Hansen