Greet now the swiftly changing year,
with joy and penitence sincere,
Rejoice! Rejoice! With thanks
embrace another year of grace.
Greet Now the Swiftly Changing Year.
Jaroslav Vajda, LBW181
This morning, I saw a lonely Christmas tree, shorn of lights and ornaments, propped up beside a trash container — a sign, perhaps, that for some people, Christmas is done, gone, and in the past.
But I’m not feeling it. Yes, a new calendar year has begun, and with it comes a flurry of activity as we get back to the regular rhythms of life. Here at Cross, we’re already preparing for the annual meeting of our congregation — recapping the previous year, prepping budgets, recruiting candidates for boards and councils, doing our best to anticipate the coming 12 months.
Yet in the church year we are still held in the joy of Christmas and the gift of the Christ child. Epiphany comes soon enough (next week on January 6). So let us continue to rejoice and give thanks. For even as the church seasons change, the grace of God remains, steadfast, ever-present, embracing us and calling us to lives of love and service, peace and justice.
Pax,
Pastor Scott