She was always smiling—except when she had forgotten that she had just eaten. She would come up to the nurses' station and ask where her food was. If we gave her something to eat, she would be just as likely to forget and come back with the same complaint: “Where is my food?” I found that it was best to tell her she was early for the next meal, which was just a couple of hours away. Her other inquiry was whether anything was going on right now. We'd tell her about whatever activities the therapists were doing and she'd wheel her chair to Bingo or crafts or singing or cards. Usually she'd just sit and watch but that was OK. She was 103. Her birthday was the day after the first of the year. Maybe that's why, whenever anyone would pass her, whatever day it actually was, she'd wish them a Happy New Year.
And she was right. Our designation of one specific day as the start of a succession of months is arbitrary. The Jewish New Year or Rosh Hashanah takes place in autumn. The Christian liturgical year begins with Advent. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and about 10 days shorter than the solar year, over time the Muslim or Hijiri New Year migrates throughout the seasons. These calendars are built around major events in their respective faiths. But you don't have to wait until a specific day to start a project or make a change or do something new. You can just get to it. Or, if you really have to wait for someone else to act or something else to happen first, you can at least make preparations.
But excluding creation, no beginning is ever without antecedents. There is always that which came before. It may be good. It may be bad. It may have had both good and bad effects. Whatever it was, you have to deal with it.
If what happened in the past was good, then you should give thanks to God for it and build on it. If some past event or events resulted in both good and bad consequences, you should reflect on that and see what wisdom can be gained from it. Ask yourself: if a similar situation should arise, is there a way to maximize the good that comes from it and minimize the evil?
If something bad has happened in the past, you may have to clean up the aftermath. Or, if you can't do that, you may have to work around its fallout. You might have to make peace with it: acknowledge that it happened and then move on the best you can.
If you had a hand in what was bad—if your actions encouraged or allowed it, if you are responsible either by what you did or didn't do—then you should repent. This doesn't necessarily mean making a big emotional scene. It means, first, regretting and turning away from the evil. It means, to use Paul's metaphor, crucifying and burying the old you. (Romans 6:3-11) That sounds drastic but Paul is not only thinking of the death of our past but also of our resurrection, spiritual and physical, where the best of a person, who they were created to be, is restored by God's Spirit.
Repentance also means telling God that you're sorry for what you did, as well as telling that to anyone who was affected. The good thing about doing this, though it's one of the hardest parts of repentance, is knowing that God truly forgives you. (1 John 1:9)
Repentance also means actively turning towards the good, not only internally but externally as well. It means orienting yourself towards Jesus and becoming more like him. It means opening yourself to his Holy Spirit, that he may purify your soul, illumine your mind and set your heart on fire for him.
But not everything bad in your life is your fault. We are social creatures and what one person or one group does affects others. The problem is that if you had no hand in some awful event, you may also feel powerless to respond to it. You may complain about it but your complaint may seem to be like just blowing off steam. It soon evaporates into nothingness.
After the Great Recession in 2008, there was an event that took place on Wall Street the next year. The organizers invited people to shred the stuff that symbolized the bad events of the past year: pink slips, worthless 401K statements, eviction notices, etc. The idea was to offer a catharsis for the bad things that happened that year. But we can do better.
When I did this in 2010, I put two slips of paper and an envelope in the bulletin. (If you're reading this, you can adapt it on your own.) On one piece of paper write down all the bad things about the previous year they wished to eradicate: events that had negative impacts on you and your loved ones—lost jobs, lost opportunities, broken dreams, illnesses, tragedies, stupid or bad decisions you made, stupid or bad decisions others made that had catastrophic effects on you or those you care for, foolish or harmful words, poor investments, fears realized, fears that never came true but which made your life miserable, arrogance, laziness, lust, greed, rage, envy, gluttony and any other sins you wish to obliterate. Do not put people on this list. We are not symbolically destroying people. Put actions, attitudes, situations and sins. Don't show anyone. Let's do that now.
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Now on the other piece of paper write, on one side, the things you are thankful for that either happened last year or which survived to this year. Write down decisions you're glad you or others made, actions you're glad that you or others took, wonderful moments, dreams realized, victories achieved, disasters averted, hard work rewarded, and milestones in life reached.
Definitely put people you are grateful for on this list, even people who are no longer living in this world but who are resting in the arms of our loving God and Father. Let's do that now.
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On the other side of the paper where we listed what we are grateful for, write down our needs and hopes for the new year. Write down both what you need to survive as well as what you hope will happen. They may be things needed for the physical, emotional, financial, or spiritual health of yourself as well as for those you love. They may be prayers for a better perspective on life, or a vision of a better-spent life to follow. When you are done, put the list of thanksgiving and hope in an envelope and put your name on it. Let's take a few minutes to do this.
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What we did in 2010 was bring the lists and envelopes up to the altar. I had set up a “holy shredder” in which people could insert the stuff they wished to commit to destruction. We had a basket in which to put the envelopes of things people were thankful for and things they hoped for. (You may destroy the first list anyway you can.)
Over these things, let us pray:
Lord God, King of the Universe, Loving heavenly Father, we present to you these things that have hurt and harmed us, your people, this past year. We consign them to destruction. Some of these things are our own fault and we humbly repent, turning from them to you. Some were not our fault and we ask that you heal us and remove their negative effects from our lives. Help us to bury them and move on. We trust that as you brought the offer of eternal life for all out of the death of your beloved Son Jesus Christ, so you will bring out of these sorrows good things for those who love and obey you.
Good and gracious Lord, we present to you these envelopes. Inside are the things and people from this past year for which we are grateful. We acknowledge that they are blessings from you. We also present to you our hopes for this new year. We ask your blessing upon them. According to your wisdom and lovingkindness, water and nourish them that they may grow to maturity and flourish. And if there is anything here for which we are not suited or not yet ready, we know that you will grant something even better for us in the long run. For we know that it is your plan that we may grow into the likeness of your Son and display your love and healing power to others, that your blessings to us may also be blessings to the world, the world you have created and are in the process of making new. We ask all this in the name of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ and through the power of your Holy Spirit, who live and reign with you, Father, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Take the envelopes with your thanks and hopes home with you. Put them somewhere where you don't forget them. You can use them as a help or focus for some of your prayers. You may want to add to them or refine them. And watch to see how God answers those prayers.
I warn you: God thinks outside the box of our perception. He is, as we see in Genesis 1, creative. The answers to your prayers may be “Yes,” “No,” “Not yet,” or “I have something better for you.” He may answer your prayers but not in the way you thought he would. But we have his assurance that he is working all things together for the good of those who love him and that what he can do for us is immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 3:20) Knowing this, may our attitude this year be that expressed by Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes!”
First preached on January 3, 2010. It has been revised and updated.
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