January 2010
New Year, New Start
“Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev 21:5). There is a powerful scene in the movie “The Passion of the Christ”. In it, Mary is running to her wounded Son who has just fallen for the third time, from the weight of the Cross. There is a flash back to an earlier day when that same son, as a child, is seen playing in the dusty streets of Nazareth and is about to fall. With the tender love of a mother, Mary reaches out to her Son.
Then the viewer sees her hand touch the wounded face of the Savior who looks at her, and through words addressed to her speaks to every human person, from the beginning of time until the end: “Behold, I make all things new.”
I was reminded of the scene as we begin a new year. With the New Year we have a new start. With the New Year we have new opportunities to serve. With the New Year we have new chances to give back more than I take out. With the New Year we have new people to meet and get to know. With the New Year we have new chances to renew and to love our relationships. With the New Year we have new ways to love the Lord. With the New Year we have new ways to be faithful to our church. With the New Year we will encounter new opportunities to love and to forgive and to practice the art of grace.
I hope that each of us will look back on the past year and think about the good and the not so good parts. I hope we will let go of the not so good parts; the losses of beautiful people, the failures of ourselves and others, the hurtful words and tough times. I hope we will look book and remember and hang on to the good things that happened to us. I hope we will continue to build on the good as well let go of the bad. I hope we all see new calls to service and new opportunities for ministry in the New Year.
With the New Year I hope we will all recognize what a blessing our church is. I hope we all starting giving more back. We are running short on people willing to work and help out with all the great ministries we do and we need everyone to pitch in and help or the great ministries can’t happen. Are you doing your share – and more? I’m afraid people are beginning to take our great church for granted and that’s a shame. With your help and you doing more than your share we can be faithful to call of Jesus and the ministry that is so rewarding.
“Behold, I make all things new.”