A New New Year's Day

I’ve decided. It’s official. I’m declaring the Feast of Epiphany to be the new New Year’s Day.

This makes perfect sense for a number of reasons, not least because it gives us more time to reflect upon (and recover from) Christmas. January 1st arrives too soon; it comes before we’ve finished the last of the baked ham and plum pudding; gingerbread crumbs and scraps of ribbon still nestle between the sofa cushions.

Following only a week after Christmas, the New Year yanks us away from the serene beauty of the manger and tosses us into the crowded noisy streets. At once we are inundated with activities and obligations; emails and announcements, new events to add to our calendars, trainings to prepare for, meetings to schedule, work to catch up on: it is a virtual blizzard of busy-ness.

Christmas gets lost in the rush — hastily packed up with the decorations and shoved onto a shelf in the garage while we “get back to the real world.”

Breathing Space

Amid the hurry and the uproar we miss the opportunity to sit back and savor the extraordinary, awe-inspiring reality of our Lord’s birth. Jesus the Christ was sent to live among us: fully human and utterly divine. God gave us a holy Gift — a gift far surpassing all others — to bless us, forgive us, teach us, heal us, and love us: completely and unconditionally. Jesus came to us that we might be transformed into a holy, loving people; His true brothers and sisters, children of the eternal Beloved.

We are forgiven, loved, and longed-for.

Such astonishing, breath-taking Good News needs time to sink in. It should be reflected upon and celebrated for more than a single day, we should remember it longer than a week.

The Indefatigable Magi

That brings up another reason that Epiphany makes such an excellent New Year: the Magi. You have to love those guys.

As you know, the feast of Epiphany commemorates the arrival of the Magi: a group of “wise men” who traveled from a foreign land in search of the newborn king. Despite rumors to the contrary, these were not kings, but early astronomers who sought to understand the ways of the world through observing the movements of the heavens.

These were a bunch of guys who slept all day and stayed up all night watching the sky, mapping the constellations, charting the stars and arguing over celestial omens. They fully expected to live out their lives doing the same thing, in the same way, year after year. Then suddenly, where there had been nothing, a brilliant light arose, illuminating the darkness. It was awesome, inspiring, irresistible.

The star — and the promise it represented — drew the Magi out of their comfortable, cushioned, silk-draped rooms. It drew them out, onto the back of cranky quadrupeds, jostling along unknown roads over steep hills, across barren deserts, and through dangerous territories, with no certainty of where they were going or where their journey would end.

Onward they traveled, day after day, week after week, and, yes, year after year. The Magi’s journey was no weekend jaunt; it took them at least two years to reach Bethlehem. Then, as now, following the Way that leads to the Lord is often difficult, requiring great strength and perseverance. And a great deal of faith.

The Journey Continues

Even when they found the holy Child their work was not ended. The Magi did not stay and gaze unceasingly upon the little boy Jesus — tempting though it must have been! — instead “they left that place... and headed home,” bearing the great Good News with them.

One journey ends, and another begins. So it goes with life, and so, too, with the passing years. The old year ends, and the new one begins. We are older, perhaps wiser; the world is changed — by what we have done and what we have left undone. The new year is not a blank book: the challenges and problems of the past linger on.

And the best of all is, the Lord is with us (Mt 1:23). Through Him all things are possible; through His Gospel of love and mercy our world and our lives can be redeemed, restored, and renewed. Through Him this can be the best year yet!

A New Beginning

Beginning our new year at Epiphany reminds us that we do not travel alone: the Lord is with us. Always. In all times, places, and situations, the Lord is with us. No matter how difficult the struggle, how long the climb, how steep the path; no matter how often we stumble and sigh, fumble and fail, the Lord is with us.

Such astonishing, breath-taking Good News should be reflected upon and celebrated — for more than a single day, or a single week. We should rejoice in it beyond the Twelve Days of Christmas.

What if our holy awe and gratitude continued unabated? What if the spirit of Christmas joy transformed our celebration of the entire year; what if the saving Message of peace and goodwill touched the lives of all humanity every day?

What if we didn’t merely “celebrate” the new year, but sanctified it with blessings and prayers, with persistent faith and practice? What if we worked and prayed and believed throughout this year and every year that it can be “on earth as it is in heaven”?

I wonder.

Jesus Christ was born to us and for us; through God’s grace may He be born in us.

Happy New Year!

Deborah +

This Week's Suggested Spiritual Exercise

How will you celebrate (or, perhaps, sanctify) the Year of Our Lord 2012?