How has 2012 been for you so far? Do you already feel like you're falling behind or are you on track, and ready to go into the rest of the year with confidence and faith?
There's always so much hype around a New Year that it can be tempting to just ignore the whole thing. After all it's just a few numbers on a calendar, isn't it? Well, I want to suggest that there's another way to look at New Year. I believe that it can be an incredible opportunity, or even better - a sacrament. The sacraments are ordinary things that are part of our everyday lives – bread, wine, water – that God fills with God's presence and purpose in order to touch us and transform us. One of the reasons for the sacraments is to teach us to view all things – every situation, every person, every moment – as a potential sacrament.
So, what is the “sacrament” of New Year? I believe it is a time when we are called to remember one of the most liberating truths of the Gospel – that God is a God of new beginnings. Right from the first, whenever someone failed, or got lost, or was hurt in some way, God was there offering a new start. Abram, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, the prophets all experienced new beginnings and were able to touch others with God's grace because of it. Through Christ, many broken and desperate people were given new lives, new hope and new connection with God. God is the God of new beginnings, and New Year offers us the invitation to experience this again for ourselves.
For most people 2011 was a tough year. But, now we're at the start of a New Year. Yes, it's just numbers on a calendar, but it creates a space for us to pause, reflect, take stock and reset our life's direction. It creates a way for us to lay aside what has passed and start again.
2012 may already have started badly for you. Well, it's still not too late to begin again. Each month offers another new beginning. Each week, each day is a blessed gift from the God of second chances. How would it be if you embraced this sacrament this year? Imagine taking each new day, each new week, each new month, each new season, as a new beginning and opening yourself to the hope and possibility that God offers. This one thought, lived and applied, really can change your entire 2012!
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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.