A New Year should begin every day

For many years our American culture has looked at New Year’s Eve as a time for celebration. For some this involves drunkenness and wild behavior.  Of course, the bible is full of warnings about this kind of behavior. For example, in         1 Peter 4:3 we hear: “You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry.” New Year's festivities are not new. The ancients celebrated a new year in many different ways, including worshipping certain Gods at the beginning of the year in order to get favor and sometimes for their destiny to be revealed.

New Years Eve and New Years Day are not Christian days of celebration, but we can make them so. As a matter of fact, we can make every day of our lives a day of celebration in the Lord. St. Paul reminds us in Romans 12:1-2: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Even those who have not known God in their lives, are encouraged by St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” While we enjoy the days of Christian Celebration in our lives like Easter and Christmas, they are certainly worthy of our joy, but they do tend to come and go before we know it. The season of Lent, which is the six weeks leading up to Easter gives us more time to think things through. It helps to prepare us in our life in Christ through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial leading up to when Jesus is crucified and resurrected on Easter Day.

We have shared recently about the season of Advent, the coming of Christ, leading us up to the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It begins four weeks before Christmas, but it is not celebrated in all Christian Churches. This is a time of reflection and renewal for us as we anticipate the coming of The Lord.
Let’s stop and think a bit more about the celebration of the New Year. Like the time of self-denial and repentance during Lent, folks do make New Year’s resolutions with the idea of making a change in their lives in some fashion to give them a fresh start for the year.  Would you consider making every day the first day of the year to come? Or maybe you already practice this kind of thinking. You know, “today is the first day of the rest of your life” kind of mentality.

We are all called to be so connected to God through Christ and His Holy Spirit, that we can communicate with Him daily, minute by minute in our lives. Scripture speaks to us in so many ways about this. In Psalm 51:10 and 12,the psalmist says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

In Romans 12:2, St. Paul reminds us: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  St. Paul goes on to remind us in Colossians 3:8-10: “But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.”

So the celebration days of all kind are good if they celebrate God’s blessings to us in our lives. However, in order to be able to truthfully celebrate, we must live ninety-nine percent of our time seeking God through Christ and His Spirit in all that we think and do. Daily discipline in the Lord makes the celebration times all the more meaningful and joyful. HAPPY NEW DAY!

Christmas: Just getting started

For much of Christianity, Christmas Day is the beginning of a twelve day celebration that ends on the twelfth night just before January 6^th, which is declared by many as the revelation of God to man through Jesus Christ. This date is referred to as the Epiphany. While there are several versions about when this Epiphany time came, a much accepted version is that this day is when the Magi visited the baby Jesus and thus Jesus, Son of God and Son of man was introduced physically to the Gentile world. So don’t go taking down your trees and other decorations on Christmas Day. There’s more to celebrate.

Many Christian traditions honor a Saint or an event on each of the twelve days of Christmas leading up to January 6^th, The Epiphany.  There are very few of us that haven’t sung “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song at some point in our lives. Have you ever wondered just what each of the gifts “my true love sent to me” mean? Is the meaning deeper than we know?

Some would have us believe that it was a secret code used by oppressed Christians in 17^th and 18^th century England. Others say that it was just a playful way of teaching new Christians (young and old) the basics of the faith, a kind of Catechism. Nonetheless, it has lasted for almost three hundred years and is loved by many. The following is the meaning of the twelve days of the song according to tradition. On each of the twelve days, my true love sent to me:

 

First Day - The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Second Day - Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Third Day - Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
Fourth Day - The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
Fifth Day - The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
Sixth Day - The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seventh Day - Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
Eighth Day - The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Ninth Day - Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
Tenth Day - The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
Eleventh Day - The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
Twelfth Day - The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

 

Whatever the origin and correct intention of this song, it’s still useful and enjoyable in our time as we seek to understand our faith in new ways. It is also a reminder that Christmas is a season that begins on Christmas Day and ends on January 5^th, 12^th night. We modern Christians seem to do our Christmas celebrating not long after Thanksgiving Day and tend to end it soon after or on Christmas Day.

 

The idea that Christmas is a celebration that lasts for 12-days beginning on Christmas day is practiced in different ways in the multiple Christian traditions, but who can say that it is not a worthwhile practice for those who celebrate this way. It certainly deepens our faith to recognize Saints and events in our history as well as to remember the many aspects of our faith that are underlying in The Twelve Days of Christmas song. The idea of continuing the celebration for 12-days after the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ connects us more with the life of Christ and God’s purposes in and through Him.    

God with us +++ God's Word

What a gift God has given us. In addition to the gift of life that He gave us, He loved His created children so much that He decided to get much more up close and personal with us by sending His Son to talk with us.  In Isaiah 9:6 we hear: "For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Don't you love it when God's plan comes together? Isaiah was foretold through God’s Spirit of the coming of the one who would be "God with us." The angel of the Lord was busy getting Mary and Joseph on board and then going out to give the shepherds the "good news of great joy." In Luke 2:1-20 we hear: "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." This was followed by a multitude of the heavenly host saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

The event of the birth of Jesus is amazing. Who would have thought that for us, all eternity would be impacted by the birth of this helpless child? What were the chances of this child living past child birth, not to mention growing up to become the, "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:16)? The chances were great because it was God Himself coming to us through His only Son who was Himself without sin. His life taught us and gave us the great example to follow. His death atoned for our sin and gave us the hope of salvation.

How should we respond to these miraculous things? For me the answer is easy. The doing of it is a little more difficult. Inside each of us is the potential to mirror the life of Jesus by turning to God in and for all things. If we open ourselves to Him, He will show Himself to us and through us to those we contact. Our goal is not to be God on earth; Jesus fulfilled that role once for all. But we must seek to offer ourselves to God, to be used as a conduit for His love.

There are some that view our world as a “Battlefield”.  Given the history of man, one might agree with this view. We are imperfect people, but God still expects us to live in peace and love. He could have made us loving robots from the beginning, but He wanted us to understand life as a beautiful gift on our own. By coming to us through His Word in Christ Jesus, He shows us all the ways that our world does not have to be a battlefield. We are called by Him to bring peace, joy and love to the world as His messengers in Christ.

A child has been given to us who is Christ the Lord. He was sent by the Father to help us better understand our importance in God's Kingdom. We are meant to be part of God's plan for His creation. Our lives are miracles as well. God has done much work to create us in His image. As we celebrate the event of God being with us through the life of Christ, let us commit to loving one another as He has loved us. Let us mirror Him to each other. God's plan is ongoing and is eternal. Let us do our part to keep it coming together. Let a child be born in us today.

John cements the coming of the Jesus, the messiah, in Chapter 1:1-5: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

Trusting One Another

Recently an organization name General Social Survey (GSS) released information pertaining to a national poll revealing a change in our societal interaction in America. The GSS mission is defined in the following statement: “The General Social Survey (GSS) conducts basic scientific research on the structure and development of American society with a data-collection program designed to both monitor societal change within the United States and to compare the United States to other nations.” For more information go online to http://www3.norc.org/GSS+Website/. 

GSS has found that Americans trust each other less than they have in the past 40 years and maybe less than ever. The same type survey done in 1972 indicated that half the people surveyed agreed that most people can be trusted. Some 40 years later, the recent survey indicates that only one third of the people surveyed agreed that most people can be trusted. In hearing these statistics, our minds race to think of changes in American Society and how this feeling about other people has evolved.

Many Biblical verses, mostly from the Old Testament, lead us in this way: Psalm 118:8 tells us, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man;” Micah 7:5, “Put no trust in a neighbor, have no confidence in a friend, guard the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms;” Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”
Do these verses tell us it’s alright not to trust each other? Is this GSS Poll on how our trusting of one another is declining a sign we are trusting in the Lord more and that’s good? Don’t you think it’s a little more complicated than that? Let’s look at some of the levels of mistrust that were revealed in the survey. 

The survey says: 1) Seventy-eight percent only trust people they meet while traveling “just somewhat,” “not too much” or “not at all.” 2) Fifty-five percent don’t trust people who they hire to do work in their homes. 3) Seventy-five percent mistrust people who are also driving cars while they drive. 4) Eighty-one percent said that they trust politicians in Washington to do the right thing “only some of the time.”
Let’s look into this declining trust in one another a little deeper. Could it be that our lack of trust of others is because we are not acting out our best from within ourselves and thus we are experts in bad behavior and see it readily in others? Let’s turn to the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In Luke 10:27 we hear, ‘And he answered,’ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Wow, maybe we don’t love ourselves and that reflects in how we love and trust others. In Matthew 5:38-39 we hear, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” I shout another “Wow” for that guidance from Jesus. 

I find myself and others I interact with wanting to strike out at those who are irritating, disagreeable or have different opinions about things. I don’t see any footnotes in the Gospel of Jesus that say, *use your own judgment.* If you want to really test yourself, take a look at Matthew 6:14-15 where the Lord tells us, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

So much has changed in our society and culture in the past 40 years. If we don’t like something or someone, we just go to the internet social media sites and let it all hang out. We can react instantly about something and it goes around the world in a few seconds. We are influenced by others who react as quickly as we do. When our lives don’t go our way we seek ways to escape through alcohol, drugs or other addictions. The advice from Jesus, 2,000 years ago, is still the best guidance in dealing with trusting others. Maybe if we corrected some of our own issues and trusted in the Lord in all we think and do, it would be easier to trust others. Maybe we’re not being the example to others that we should be.