5And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6Then he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.
The artwork here is titled "Liminal Air" by Shinji Ohmakidi Shinji.
I think this is a good opportunity to talk about "liminality."
Today is All Hallows Eve, a night that some talk about as if there is a crack in the border between the spirit world and the world we know better. This coming Sunday is All Saints Sunday, an opportunity to remember those who came before us and who also entered eternal rest before us. These are occasions when we recognize that we are on the edge of something. The threshold.
What is "liminality?" Surely not a word we use every day (but I challenge you to find an opportunity to use it today, tonight or tomorrow!), this is the concept of being on the threshold between. Between familiarity and un-familiarity.
How many times have you thought to yourself, "I'm not sure how this is going to go, but here I go"? How many times do you think nervously into the future, spinning scenarios until you're dizzy? There is something inside us that detects we are on the edge, the edge of what? We don't yet know. I believe people and organizations, when they take on risk, can realize there is something energizing about that openness. Liminality. We are at a liminal moment.
Scripture here from Revelation 21 points to Jesus Christ, the one who has passed through the threshold. "I am the start and the stop, the 'A' and 'Z', the beginning and the end," he says to us. Quite a bold statement, but one I sorely need to hear! When I don't know what's past the threshold, Jesus is there. When I review where I've been, Jesus is there. When I notice I'm having a liminal moment, I would do well remembering that the threshold IS the very throne of Jesus.
Blessings! Let's stand at the threshold together.
Pastor James Aalgaard
St. Paul Lutheran Church
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