Today’s
Scripture Reading (December 31, 2017): 2 Thessalonians 3
“Hope
smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering 'it will be
happier'...” The words belong to one of Britain’s favorite poets, Alfred, Lord
Tennyson. And they reflect a truth that seems to be passed down through the
ages. As we turn the calendar page from one year to the next, our hope is
always that next year will be a happier one. In my short memory, it has seemed always to be the hope of many of us as we sit
on this night waiting to say goodbye to
one year and hello to the next. I am not sure what it is that we are expecting.
Why is it that every year past always seems so terrible,
and yet we hold out hope that the next will still be better? I am not sure that
there is an answer to that question.
2017
prepares to draw its last breath. 2018 awaits us in the wings. Maybe 2018 will
be the year that we experience world peace, the year when politicians begin to
make sense, and the year when health and wealth fall
on us all. Admittedly, I am not holding my breath on any of these eventual
outcomes. I am not convinced that the turning of a calendar page makes all that
much difference.
The
truth is that 2017 gave us both hope and despair, and 2018 will most likely be
filled with both as well. Maybe the reason that every old year always seems so bad is that it is just easier to remember the despair
more than we recognize the hope. And then
the years seem to bleed into each other as well.
So
let me leave you with these words from Paul as we begin to close the door on
2017. I am trusting that the God of peace himself will give you peace in 2018,
regardless of what it might be that the year in front of us holds. May he keep you throughout the days and the nights of
the New Year. May you rejoice in him during the happy times of the year and
lean on him through the cold nights and lonely mornings. May he hold you close
and never let you go. The Lord be with all of you – and through the miracle of
his grace may 2018 be the best year yet, even if it ends up being the worst.
Happy
New Year!
Tomorrow’s Scripture
Reading: Acts 19
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