Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
So often at the new year, we reflect back on what has happened over the past 365 days – we remember the joys, the sorrows, the struggles and challenges that we have journeyed through in the past year. We remember those we spent time with and those whose absence was notably felt. We recall, we reflect, we remember.
But being people of faith there is more for us – when we look back over our past year we look back with eyes of faith. Hopefully we can reflect on our past year and thank God for all that we have experienced. I pray that you are able to see how God was present in both the beauty and the messiness of your lives and how God was walking with you, even when you may have felt alone. I pray that we can learn from Mary as we reflect on our past year. We are told that Mary “kept all of these things – reflecting on them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Let us not simply look back at this New Year and say goodbye or good riddance, but let us take time to deeply reflect on all that has happened. Let us follow Mary’s example as she teaches us to bring all parts of our lives to God and to talk through them with Christ, as you would a trusted friend – to ponder all things in your heart.
And from these ponderings comes knowledge of God’s power, God’s love and God’s presence in your life. With this insight I think we are called to be like the shepherds we hear about in today’s reading. When the shepherds left that stable, the gospel tells us they went out and told everyone. “All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds” (Luke 2:18). In this New Year, let us be like the shepherds – let us tell everyone how we have seen God working in our lives, so that all may be amazed and come to know God, through our story.
At the New Year we also look forward to the year to come. As people of faith we are called to look forward with great hope – hope that we may continue to bring God’s kingdom to Earth. We look forward to this new year with hope of better things to come, we pray that we may have greater wisdom and grace in the trials of this coming year, and we look forward with excitement and anticipation, knowing that this next year, as all year’s do, will bring surprises of one kind of another – unexpected joy and unknown tragedy. And we ask the Lord to be with us through all of these moments. I want to challenge myself to embrace the unknown of this new year – to use this turning of the calendar as a time to truly say “my time on earth is yours Lord, show me how to use it.” Sometimes we can be very surprised by what the Lord calls us to do. May we all be open to that call.
I want to wish you all a happy new year, but I don’t believe I could say my wishes for you any better than the Lord did in Numbers. My hope for your new year is that “the LORD bless you and keep you! The LORD let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you! The LORD look upon you kindly and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26)! Amen.
- Amanda (AJ) Grimm