It's my tradition to go to church on New Year's morning, before most of my family is awake. This morning I took my six-block solitary walk through very quiet neighbourhoods, thanking God for all the blessings of the past year. I didn't reach the end of my list of things for which I am grateful before I reached the church.
The readings on January 1st are always the same, and perfect for starting a new year. God tells Moses to bless his people with the words we sing to our girls every night before bed:
May the Lord bless you and watch over you,The Psalm (67) repeats these themes and asks that God's way be known upon the earth, that people live under God's guidance, in equity.
may the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you,
may the Lord look kindly on you and give you peace.
I've been thinking a lot about equity of late. Last week I read Paulo Coelho's The Winner Stands Alone (Harper 2009, ISBN 9780061750441) in which the author spends a lot of time musing on fame, wealth and power and their tendencies to make everyone unhappy. He points out how human striving to be special or to stand out from the crowd leads the glitterati (or Superclass, as he calls them) to fight for their youth, beauty, strength, and wealth to the point where, if they want to remain "on top," they cannot trust anyone but themselves. In the meantime, people who aren't so driven are happy with little more than having their loved ones near.
Henri Nouwen, one of my favourite spiritual writers (whose website link I'll add to the sidebar today) left the following as his December 31st spiritual reflection:
So much of our energy, time, and money goes into maintaining distance from one another. Many if not most of the resources of the world are used to defend ourselves against each other, to maintain or increase our power, and to safeguard our own privileged position.So, here we are, at the beginning of 2011, celebrating the beginning of a new year. What if we spend this year being grateful for what we have instead of wishing things were different? What if we make it a year of peace and reconciliation? What if we put all rivalry aside and live in equity, sharing what we have? Imagine the possibilities!
Imagine all that effort being put in the service of peace and reconciliation! Would there be any poverty? Would there be crimes and wars? Just imagine that there was no longer fear among people, no longer any rivalry, hostility, bitterness, or revenge. Just imagine all the people on this planet holding hands and forming one large circle of love. We say, "I can't imagine." But God says, "That's what I imagine, a whole world not only created but also living in my image."
Let's do it... and have a truly Happy New Year!
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