ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS

Here we are and the end of a calendar year. I realize it is just a human construct, the calendar. But, in nature, here in the northern hemisphere, at this time of year, there is a change. A cosmic ending and beginning is happening.

The darkness that has grown longer and longer throughout December, threatening to take over, has been reversed. The days that grew shorter and shorter have turned around and are getting longer little by little. One year, one rotation of the earth around the sun is ending. Another is beginning. The calendar reflects this bigger reality.

Jesus tells a parable in John 12:24 about a seed.

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But, if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

2023 is on its way out. Let it fall to the ground and die. Welcome the change, the new year, the promise of new life, new opportunities, a fresh start. Step into this new year with faith and with hope.