Bottom line: Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. That means he is the foundation of the universe and - if we permit him - the foundation for our lives.

On today's Feast of Christ the King, Jesus - in intimate union with the Father - tells us he is the Alpha and the Omega. You have seen those letters in Christian art: the Alpha looks like a capital A and the Omega like an upside down U. They are the A and the Z of the Greek alphabet the first and last letters. Jesus elaborates what it means for him to be the Alpha and the Omega: he is, he states, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty." As the beginning and end of creation, Jesus is the origin of the cosmos; he is the foundation of the entire structure.

It is astounding to think of Jesus as the source of the vast universe with all its galaxies, but there is something more immediate for you and me. The galaxies are an extension of simple, beautiful elements. You and I - though much smaller - are in one way more complex. We have to make a choice in relation to our foundation.

Before asking you to make that choice, I want to first ask you to consider what a foundation is. A foundation is not always noticed, but it is the most important part of any structure. I saw that last summer when we did our school renovation project. Day by day I watched the work progress. I have to admit that at a certain point I started getting nervous. They were spending so much time digging and breaking things up, that I didn't think they would finish in time for school. But once they had laid the foundation, the rest went quickly and they finished on schedule.

Building on a solid foundation requires great effort. You can have an apparently beautiful house with lovely furniture, but if dry rot or termites are eating the boards which join it to the foundation, the house will not last. The building has to stay connected to the foundation - or it will easily fall down.

The same applies in our lives. If we don't build on a strong foundation and stay connected with it, our lives - and our relationships - can easily fall apart. I heard about a man who learned this the hard way. He had a daughter who he adored. Wanting to always please her, he lavished things on her: the nicest clothes and beautiful gifts for her room. He bought a fancy car so he could drive her around in style. When she was teenager, he told her he would like to take her with him on an ocean cruise and said she could take along one of her girlfriends. He awaited her delighted reaction, but it didn't come. Instead of jumping for joy, she became quiet and then said she did not want to go. Shocked, he asked, "Why?"

She looked at her dad and said, "You don't treat me like a daughter. You treat me like a pet. I am not your pet."

The man was so stunned he did something he had not done in a long time. He prayed. In desperation he went to confession so he could talk to a priest. The man realized he had to determine what the foundation was for his life. Only then could he have a basis to connect with his daughter. He could not do it just by buying her nice things.

When you think about it, what is the difference between a child and a pet? Many of us have pets that we deeply love. If we provide them with food, shelter and some affection; they seem happy with the arrangement. They belong to us in a way that we can never belong to them. A child is different. He does not belong to his parents in an ultimate sense. Each child, as the Catechism says, is a gift. He belongs to someone else. When we recognize to whom a child ultimately belongs, there is a positive sense in which he can belong to his parents - and his parents to him. To whom, then, does that child ultimately belong?

Jesus tells us today he is the Alpha and the Omega. Alpha, as I mentioned earlier, is the first Greek letter; Omega is the last one. Jesus is the starting point, the foundation; he is also the goal. We discover the basis for our lives when we connect with him. If we try to build a structure apart from him, it ultimately falls apart. It is nothing more than a castle in the air - an illusion which melts like the mist.

Separated from God, our relationships will always have some element of exploitation. In the past, it took the extreme form of slavery - the ownership of another human being. Today we see it in in vitro fertilization which treats tiny humans as products we can implant in a woman, throw away or (why not?) utilize for experiments. To cite Alexander Solzhenitsyn, all this has happened because men have forgotten God.

On the other hand, if we belong to Jesus we can discover our right relation to others. We can belong to one another, as members of a body belong to each other, each one unique, but helpful - even necessary - to the well-being of others. If we belong to Jesus, we can belong to one another in a true sense.

During this month of Stewardship we have been inviting you to build your lives on a sure foundation: to recognize the source of your life, your abilities and the various resources you command. It means recognizing the one to whom we ultimately belong. Doing so will not only bring you inner peace; it is also the best thing you can do for those you love.

We have finished Thanksgiving and now we enter a season which is more dangerous: the Christmas season or - as our secular society now insists - the Holiday season. In the coming weeks we will feel pressure from our society to buy gifts for family members and others. That's great. A gift can be a lovely expression of affection and care. But make sure you tend to the foundation of your life - the only foundation for constructing a profound relationship with your child or other loved one. On this final Sunday of the liturgical year, the Church calls us to recognize that we belong to Jesus. He is our king. Jesus tells us, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

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