So it’s Clapham Common tomorrow – if all goes to plan, DV. Sadly, that’s another C. I’ve already done Crosby (28x), Croxteth Hall (2x) and even Chelsea Bicentennial (just once) in my long-term goal to complete my ParkRun alphabet.
You may be aware of the modern phenomenon of ParkRun tourism. There are now 821 ParkRuns in the UK as well as another 1200 across the world, and each Saturday morning at 9.00 we take on this 5k challenge at speeds varying from the very fast to barely moving.
Many of us enjoy visiting different ParkRuns all over the country and beyond. In fact, each Saturday our Run Director will welcome those runners who are visiting Ormskirk, many in order to acquire their “O.” For the record I can only find another three ParkRuns beginning with O: Oldham, Osterley and Overton.
As you can now infer, there is a particular subset of ParkRun tourists who seek to complete the entire alphabet, all 25 letters. At the time of blogging, there is no X – but we await an expansion of ParkRun into China with enthusiasm.
It's strange how we human beings like to structure our lives around the alphabet.
So there's the City Alphabet Challenge, where you visit cities from Amsterdam to Zagreb, or the Country Alphabet Challenge, travelling from Argentina to Zambia. Even the Food Alphabet Challenge, where you sample dishes or cuisines starting with each letter
Maybe it’s a shorthand for the whole of life – you couldn’t possibly visit every single ParkRun or city but doing an A to Z gives a sense of completeness.
This fascination with the alphabet is not confined to modern times. The Bible itself reflects this interest, particularly in the form of acrostic poetry. These are poems where each line or verse begins with successive letters of the alphabet. Notably, the Hebrew Bible often employs acrostics, and Lamentations is a prime example.
Essentially Lamentations is a book of five separate poems, four being acrostic, mourning the sacking of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586BC. Chapters 1, 2, and 4 each begin with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, all 22 letters from aleph (א) to tav (ת). In contrast, chapter 3 has 66 verses, grouping three verses per letter of the alphabet.
Here the poet seeks to convey a sense of order within chaos, reflecting the trauma following the destruction of the temple on mount Zion. Moreover, the completeness of the Hebrew alphabet suggests total suffering but also total hope in God's mercy. Hence the verse which I use in most funeral services: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end." (Lamentations 3:22f).
Many of the Psalms use the Hebrew alphabet as a structure. I aim to read a Psalm every morning and after 117 days I begin to approach Psalm 119 with trepidation. To encourage me God gives me a break with Psalm 117, just two verses. Next day, Psalm 118, some 29 verses. And then it’s Psalm 119, page after page, the longest chapter in the entire Bible.
Why so long? Because Psalm 119 isn’t just your normal acrostic psalm. It has 176 verses, divided into 22 sections, one section for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Moreover, each section contains eight verses with every verse beginning with the same Hebrew letter. In other words, it is eight times longer than your standard acrostic Psalm
And there’s more. Nearly each verse within each section will include one of these eight words: law, statutes, ways, precepts, commands, words, laws and decrees. Not quite. Just three verses stand out, presumably the key word went astray through a copyist error.
So what’s happening here? Clearly the Psalmist is going out of their way to make a point – the importance of living for God and obeying his word in every single area of our lives, from aleph to tav.
We experience it as a deeply personal prayer, an intimate meditation on living a holy life through obeying God’s Word. The psalmist expresses delight, longing, suffering, and hope, showing how scripture sustains us in every situation.
One verse, for example, became the standard prayer for those using Scripture Union Bible notes, a prayer I prayed frequently as a young Christian. “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. (Psalm 119:18)
In contrast, the New Testament doesn’t follow the acrostic structure, but it still contains references to the concept of completeness. This is especially the case in the opening of Revelation, the final book in the Bible. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:18)
Here, Alpha (Α) and Omega (Ω) are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, representing the beginning and the end of all things. Jesus, as the Alpha and Omega, signifies that all of history and eternity is in his hands. His reign is complete and all-encompassing.
Through Jesus, we find hope and peace, knowing that he holds authority over our lives, the world, and the future. The ultimate restoration of all things is in his hands.
Jesus: our A to Z guide to the new Jerusalem.
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