January Reflection, 2024

With the start of a New Year, we often hope to put behind us the troubles of the Old Year and in our minds look forward to better times in the future. Those who remember New Year 2000 will remember the sense of optimism that there was: the Cold War was over, the rich world was looking at ways of helping ease the debts of the poorer nations and we were led to hope that the new millennium would see a better future for all humankind. Looking to 2024 and that sense of optimism in our ability to create a better world for all has taken a denting. The Ukraine / Russia war continues, and it feels as if the Cold War has returned with very poor relations between Russia and the West; there is war in the Holy Land with seeming atrocities on both sides; and there is a Climate Crisis which is most acute in the poorer countries with more floods, droughts and uncontrollable fires than previously and rising sea levels threatening to overwhelm some Pacific Islands.

A central belief of Christianity is ‘God with Us’. It can be tempting to think that if God is with us, then nothing should go wrong, and life will be plain sailing. However, life teaches us that is not how life works. We have become so familiar with the Christmas story and the Christian message that it can sometimes lose its power to amaze. The idea that the solution to the problems of the world should lie in the birth of a child in a backwater of the Roman empire two thousand years ago is extraordinary; even more extraordinary that in this child we see the fullness of the God who made the universe. Of all the possible interventions to bring hope to the earth, this would surely count as one of the more obscure!

As we try to wrestle with the problems in our lives, we often try to use the New Year as a time for personal new beginnings. But in making New Year resolutions we need to ask, are we staying true to ourselves or trying to be someone different? When Jesus offers us a new beginning, he’s simply calling us to be ourselves, our best selves. And that presence of Jesus brings hope and transformation. ‘God with us’, even in the worst of times, means that today there are new possibilities. There are opportunities to be a blessing to others and to be blessed in return. The presence of Jesus means that today can have meaning and purpose, and that whatever we face we can be given strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

Our personal ability to create change in the world may be very limited. I believe that God recognises this but will, if we let him, work through us to become the person he wants us to be. When we look back on a past year or past relationship or past situation, we may nostalgically long to return to that place. The graces of those times and the memories of the past can come with us but most importantly, God is never left behind. God moves with us from the present moment into the future, into new and hopeful beginnings. We may not be able to solve any of the major international problems, but our attitudes and actions can work to make this world a better place for all.

A verse from Isaiah says that God is going to do something ‘brand-new’. Our question should be, what brand new thing is God doing for me now?

And to start our new beginning at the start of this New Year here is a prayer attributed to St Teresa of Avila and St Thérèse of Lisieux:

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be confident knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Amen.

Richard Byas (Reader)