God will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness.… “Now I am making the whole of creation new…. It is already done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”
—Revelation 21:4–6, Jerusalem Bible
Father Richard finds a hopeful vision for universal restoration in the Scriptures:
It’s quite shocking to contrast these verses from Revelation with Christianity’s more recent notions of Armageddon or the Rapture. Instead of judgment and destruction, we witness God keeping creation both good and new—which means always going somewhere even better or, in a word, evolving. God keeps creating things from the inside out, so they are forever yearning, growing, and changing. Implanted in all living things, this generative force grows them both from within—because they are programmed for it—and from without—as they take in light, nutrition, and water.
If we see the Eternal Christ Mystery as the symbolic Alpha Point for the beginning of “time,” we can see that history and evolution truly have an intelligent plan and trajectory from the very start. The Risen Christ assures us that, all crucifixions to the contrary, God is leading us somewhere positive. God has been leading us since the beginning and even includes us in the process of unfolding (Romans 8:28–30). Christ is the Divine Radiance at the beginning and the Divine Allure drawing us into a more positive future. We are thus bookended in a Personal Love—coming from Love and moving toward an ever more inclusive Love. The Book of Revelation brilliantly names this “Alpha” and “Omega” (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet).
Many do not feel a need for creation to have any form, direction, or purpose. After all, many scientists do not seem to ask such ultimate questions. Evolutionists observe the evidence and the data and say the universe is clearly unfolding and still expanding at ever faster rates, although they do not know the final goal of this expansion. But Christians should believe that the overarching vision does have a shape and meaning—which is revealed from its inception as “good, good, good, good, good” and even “very good” (Genesis 1:10–31). The biblical symbol of the Universal and Eternal Christ, standing at both ends of cosmic time, was intended to assure us that the clear and full trajectory of the world we know is an unfolding of consciousness with “all creation groaning in this one great act of giving birth” (Romans 8:22). [1]
Authentic mystical experience connects us and keeps connecting us at ever-newer levels, breadths, and depths “until God is all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). “The world, life and death, the present and the future all belong to you, for you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God” (1 Corinthians 3:22–23). Full salvation is finally universal belonging and universal connecting. Our word for that is “heaven.” [2]
References:
[1] Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope for, and Believe (New York: Convergent, 2019, 2021), 95–96.
[2] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2014), 226.
Image Credit: A path from one week to the next—Madison Frambes, Untitled 1, 7, and 5 (detail), 2023, naturally dyed paper and ink, Mexico, used with permission. Click here to enlarge image.
Though she weeps, the woman is moving forward. Pain is a natural part of healing.
Story from Our Community:
Sometimes, I experience a taste of everyday mysticism. I’ll catch a glimpse of a tree for example—one that I have seen many times. Only, now it looks different. It’s no longer static; it’s alive, breathing, moving through space. It whispers even. I can’t quite understand what it’s saying, but at the same time, I seem to understand it entirely. I feel that it’s blessing me, I’m blessing it. During these experiences, I stand there in awe, and I’m conscious of the sun warming my back. Thank you, CAC, for giving me entry into this world—the real world. —Joseph K.
