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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion New Year is Renewal January 1, 2010 |
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Frontline Devotion for Friday, January 1, 2010 by Fritz Foltz
John 1: 10-13 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
The New Year is always a time of renewal. Since ancient time, New Year symbolized the revival and restoration of the earth, society, and self. Although proclaimed with a certain irony, the cry went out: “The old crop is dead, long live the new harvest”; “The king is dead; long live the king”; “God is dead, long live God”. All that was left of the last crop was eaten or destroyed before the new was harvested. The king came off the throne and then reascended it while his people pledged their allegiance. God was thought to leave his sanctuary in the temple and then to return while the people sang a “new song”. All confessed their sins and were called to live a fresh life.
All this was done with magnificent ritual which certainly involved magic, but also acknowledged our part. The harvest is not successful unless we do our part, the king is not king unless we accept him as king. God is not supreme unless we recognize his supremacy. For instance the shofar, a ram’s horn, was always blown as if to remember “Isaac is dead, long live Isaac”. Actually the ram is dead and Isaac lives, but only because Abraham trusts and God provides.
Since ancient time we have also recognized nothing is ever the same again, but at the same time everything is the same. We never trust enough, know enough, or do enough. In the Old Testament God was portrayed as Wisdom calling to us in the streets and at the gate, “Come to me. Stop being simpletons. Come to me and find success and satisfaction”. In the New Testament God is portrayed as the Word become human and dwelling among us, but we do not know him or accept him. In fact, we ignore him and reject him to our peril.
New Year is still a time of renewal, but shallow people that we are, we have reduced it to making silly resolutions such as “Fat is dead, long live thin”, or “Smoking is dead, long live my lungs”, or “Debt is dead, long live my new discipline”. But perhaps this has been such an awful year in which we have lost faith in just about everything and everyone that we shall really seek renewal. Let your resolution be to look for God among us, not only in silent nature but also in the conversation when two or three gather in His name. Let your proclamation be “The past is dead; long live God”.
Let us pray: Come, Father, and dwell among us. Open our eyes and hearts that we might be renewed by your presence and find hope in your love. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen,