Happy New Year!
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain have the workers from their toil? I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with. He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover, he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; moreover, it is God’s gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.
–Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
As I am typing this (last year, on Monday) the rumble of thunder is competing with the rattle of rain on the roof. The community is beings cleansed and watered, as if to be made ready for the new year. I will soon be leaving to go away for brief time of renewal. I know that as I enjoy time with family, our thoughts will inevitably drift to the future and to what the new year will bring.
I am pretty certain that we share the common dream of a swift end to this pandemic. We have had enough of this “time to refrain from embracing!” We want for 2021 to be a time to embrace; to embrace each other and to embrace the possibilities that our reunited lives can bring. We know that we still need to spend time in mourning, but we want 2021 to be a time to dance. Most importantly, 2021 must be a time to heal.
This new year can be a time of healing. Yes, we seek heling of the bodies, relationships, businesses and lives which have been through this disease. Moreover, I believe that 2021 can be a time of healing for our community, for our nation, and for the world.
Let this be our goal, our toil, and our pleasure: to be makers of peace, builders of beloved community, and healers of relationships.
Now is the time.
Pastor George
God of Wonders, You who makes all things new: move through us in this new year. Move in our hands and our voices that we might bring healing with our words and our work. Be the light which guides our path and the very ground of our being. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Your questions for Sunday’s worship:
1. Where do you go when you seek answers?
2. Who comes to you seeking affirmation, information, guidance, or support?
3. Where can you shine a light in this new day?