When I was in Seminary, I came across John Wesley’s Covenant Service, meant to be used on New Year’s Eve. The service actually started with Richard Alleine, a Puritan who published it in 1663. John Wesley adapted it and first used it in 1755 (here is the full service if you want to check it out (Covenant Service). It is exceptionally long and very 17th/18th century, but the point of it is still of great value; we all need to look back, consider, repent, atone, and forgive. If we don’t, we can grow bitter, and that bitterness hurts us and those around us. And while most religions have an aspect of repentance and atonement in them, the task of living those ideas out rests on each one of us.
The problem is that none of us hold opinions that we believe are wrong – yes, everyone thinks they are right all the time (not just me). A sane person, upon realizing the wrongness of an idea or action, would change immediately. We are stubborn beings, us humans, and we don’t like change. It is, for many, easier to remain entrenched in something that is wrong than to admit that we need to change. Change, unfortunately, is the only thing that doesn’t change. And while God is, and always has been, perfect, even God changes God’s mind (it’s in the Bible).
As a nation, we need to change as well. In fact, one of the things we do best is find new ways to achieve and grow and thrive. When we don’t change – like our intransigently toxic relationship with fossil fuels – we cause devastation. We have known that carbon energy destroys life for over 100 years, yet we continue to cling to the past. If we want to survive, we need to take the steps that will lead us to a new reality. If we don’t change, we will, as a species, die. The planet, however, will survive. God is good like that. I hope this new year brings about good changes for all of us. My prayer is that each one of us will consider ourselves, repent of that which we have done wrong, atone for the hurt we have caused, forgive ourselves and others, and live a better year together. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Prayer – Holy God, thank You for the chance to start again as renewed people. May Your Spirit continue to speak to each one of us. Amen.
Today’s art is “Renewal” by Aszhaa Speck.