THE SPIRIT OF NEWNESS

I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall ever be in my mouth.

I will glory in the Lord;
let the humble hear and rejoice.

Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
let us exalt his Name together.

[psalm 34:1-3]

There’s something magical about a new year.

I think the magic is in the word “new.”

Newness implies something that hasn’t existed before, something unseen, unfelt, untouched, unexperienced.

Although there is nothing from the prophet Isaiah anywhere in the assigned readings for today, the words from Chapter 43 certainly fit with the theme of newness:

Do not remember the former things
    or consider the things of old.
I am about to do a new thing;
    now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?
[Isaiah 43:18-19]

Moving into the uncharted territory of a new year prompts a sense of wonder and curiosity.

I think of a youngster and how he or she views newness. The eyes are widened, the mouth is fully opened in indescribable amazement,

In my ninth decade of life I have long lost that look.

Yet there’s something as of yet indescribable about the year 2026 that I look forward to.

I surprise myself that I haven’t been discouraged or dismayed by cynicism or apathy.

I find an abundance of guidance and comfort in the words of the assigned psalm for today:

Keep your tongue from evil-speaking
and your lips from lying words.

Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to root out the remembrance of them from the earth.
[Psalm 34:13-16]

I won’t say that I’m yet at that Julian of Norwich “All shall be well” stage, but there’s a wealth of wisdom and hopefulness in these verses.

The positive reinforcement encourages me to reject giving in to despondency no matter how many times I hear depressing news out of Washington, reports of heinous acts of cruelty both at home and abroad, or the racist, dehumanizing, demonizing rhetoric against immigrants and people of color.

I am about to do a new thing!

I spent the better part of New Year’s Day going through boxes of stored stuff deciding what to keep and what to discard, promising myself that I would do a better job of organizing, and not to let things pile up.

Given my history, I’m very aware that this noble ideal may be nothing but a pipe dream. But at least saying it to myself is therapeutic!

When I first retired in 2020, I saw the above image of Winnie the Pooh and captioned it with the quote: “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing everyday.” (see photo)

That was my goal, but once the pandemic diminished things changed quite rapidly and interim ministry became a major responsibility. A lot of retirement plans were put on the back burner.

I began to realize that over the past three-plus years I was not in control of my time. Some unforeseen health challenges also forced me to reassess my life choices.

So I’ve come to the conclusion that I will not do absolutely nothing, but I will manage my time more attentively and not give in so much to the needs of others.

I enter this year with no vocational responsibilities and plan to keep it that way.

Yes, for me it is a challenge to discipline myself without external obligations. This is the year I will work to achieve that by becoming more insistent on saying “NO!”

But I have plans that I hope to fulfill before my life’s journey is complete.

I am about to do a new thing!

I end today with a little background on the closing prayer.

You’ll note that it comes from the Lutheran hymnal, Evangelical Lutheran Worship. It is commonly used as one of the closing collects at Evening Prayer.

However, the prayer was written by an Anglican priest, the Rev. Eric Milner-White, who for many years was Dean of King’s College in Cambridge. This prayer first appeared in 1941, in a book titled Daily Prayer.

It has become a favorite of mine, and a staple of my prayer practice. I have to confess that I was even more drawn to it when I learned that it was originally titled “The Call of Abraham.”

But on a serious note, read it carefully and repeat it a few times. I feel strongly that, like me, you will find it a source of strength when you are in need of a dose of courage.

My you be blessed and highly favored in this year, 2026, and beyond.

Let us pray:
O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Evangelical Lutheran Worship p. 317)

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Photo credits

Featured Image: Panoramic view of Prague, Czech Republic, December 30, 2014, personal photo

Boy in black t-shirt: Mohamed Abdelghaffar on Pexels.com

Eric Milner Milner-White: by Lafayette, half-plate nitrate negative, 16 January 1934