New Year's Day

New Year is a big deal in the northern parts of England and Scotland. I’m not talking about fireworks and hangovers. Although I’m sure that may be a side-effect of their traditions. The first day of each New Year friends go from home to home wishing each other a good year ahead and celebrating their intentions with food and plenty of drink. (So maybe hangovers are part of the tradition.) Once midnight has passed, families consider the first guest over the threshold as a particular honor.

Doesn’t that just sound amazing? To imagine that we could just run all willy nilly over to each others’ homes with abandon and no concern for who might have the coronavirus? Ahhh Heaven! And to think we once took it all for granted!!

Here is a prayer traditionally spoken on New Year’s Day:

This day is a new day that has never been before.

This year is a new year, the opening door.

Enter, Lord Christ - we have joy in Your coming.

You have given us life; and we welcome Your coming.

I turn now to face You, I lift up my eyes.

Be blessing my face, Lord: be blessing my eyes.

May all my eye looks on be blessed and be bright, my neighbours, my loved ones be blessed in Your sight.

You have given us life and we welcome Your coming.

Be with us, Lord, we have joy, we have joy.

This year is a new year, the opening door.

Be with us, Lord, we have joy, we have joy.

Amen.

A Utensil for God...

When I was preparing one of our holiday meals, small though it was this year, I polished silver and got out the good china. I particularly love my china because it was my grandmother’s. Pulling it out reminds me of holidays long past, when others used these same dishes to serve me—when I didn’t have a clue about how much work went into setting a beautiful table and cooking a plethora of delicious homemade concoctions.

My guys don’t really care for the “good stuff;” they think the glasses don’t hold enough water. They don’t like how I yell and scream when they heat leftovers on the good china and cause fireworks in the microwave.

In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose.

Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the master to use you for every good work.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 NIV

Once upon a time, I believed that a valuable person was one whom God made into an expensive utensil. You know, fancy. The kind of person you might rub elbows with on special occasions. My boys have provided me with a different perspective with their penchant for plain. They love the reliable glasses and dishes we use every day. Nothing fancy, but they’re clean and serviceable. They hold plenty of water and they never require the use of a fire extinguisher when microwaved.

Second Timothy doesn’t quantify the value of fancy and plain, it just says a pure utensil is one that God can use. It isn’t about how much you sparkle. Oh, I love my good china. But the thing that serves my family best is the everyday dishes. Morning, noon, and night they sustain us. As you begin your new year, would you pray about allowing God to have His way with you?

Maybe you’ve been thinking you have to be fancy or teflon coated to be useful. Maybe you think you cannot be serviceable until you become virtuous. It doesn’t really work that way. If it did, who could serve? Maybe this next year you might just notice what I suspect others already see in you - your capacity for lovingkindness. Rare is the human who did not come pre-wired for lovingkindness, seeing as how we bear the image of God and all. May you see that in yourself today!

Dancing with God

Recently, I received a phone call from someone who wanted to make a donation to our ministry. He reminded me of the time we met, as strangers, in a line waiting for a flu shot. I had spoken at an organization he is a member of and he had taken offense at some of my statements. Once he had me as a captive audience in a long line, he let loose. Here’s a recap of the old conversation.

“You said something that really bugs me. It is the way you talk about community.”

“Yeah? Tell me more.”

“Well, you know, you make it sound like if we don’t have a community of people that we hang with, we’re missing out. Listen, little lady, I used to go to church. What a bunch of hypocrites! I suppose you’re going to tell me that your place is different.”

“No, I can’t say that it is. We’re messy as can be. Just this week I heard yet another story of how one person in our community got their feelings hurt by someone else. And within a few hours, I heard yet another story that hurt MY feelings. It’s a terrible mess.”

That slowed him down. “Yeah, well, you’re probably going to do something about that, aren’t you? That’s what you minister types do—meddle. You’ll make everybody kiss and make up, right?”

I laughed. “Are you kidding me? I am one of the mad ones who has my feelings hurt. I think it might be counter-productive for me to meddle, plus, I’m not really interested in kissing and making up.”

“Hmmph. I bet you’ll send some deacon over there to fuss at them, and if they don’t straighten up, you’ll kick them out of the church, right?”

“Ha. You’re too funny! If we kicked out everybody who acted badly in our community, none of us would show up on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. Frankly, this is such a big problem that I don’t know what to do about it. Plus, we don’t have deacons. We’re not that organized.”

It turns out that as a result of somehow managing to survive for all these years without deacons, lots of squabbles and hurt feelings and no wildly successful fundraising efforts, we helped one of his grandchildren find resources to help her explore sobriety. Today, he wants to help us out with a gift. Isn’t that lovely? And isn’t it lovely that he is willing to invest in a ministry that does NOT have its act together? Isn’t it sweet that he wants to give us a donation even though he thinks I’m a crackpot?

We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. God wants you to live a pure life.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3 The Message

While you’re making that list of New Year’s resolutions don’t forget that it isn’t about figuring out some way to be perfect; it’s so much more about dancing with God, allowing Him to lead you through the messes. If we get confused and think a pure life equals a life with no boo boo’s, we’re barking up the wrong tree.