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Happy New Year 2010
In Jesus’ time they would have been worried too – about Roman occupation, corruption in high places, poverty on the doorstep, and a religion made subservient to the interests of the elite. Jesus was forthright in his attacks on all these things, but unlike us, he never viewed the future in a negative or cynical manner, but offered a beautiful vision which defied the negativity of his cruel critics.
Soon after his birth as a vulnerable baby, onto the scene came two very elderly and wise people who saw in him a future which gladdened their hearts so entirely that they felt that the hopes of all their long lives were fulfilled in this one small child. Simeon and Anna, two elderly mystics who held the baby in their arms in the Temple, sang out with all their heart, “now that I’ve seen this child I can depart this life in peace!” In their wisdom they looked to the turning of the years and saw a radiant vision of justice, peace and love.
Whatever the next ten years may hold for us, of this there can be no doubt – with the birth of Jesus into our world, all things are made new and all things become possible. Even our own lives can be released from the shackles that hold us back from becoming the human beings that God wants us to become. Past experiences may have made us apathetic for the future, or fearful that we cannot break those old destructive habits, but with Christ to guide and empower us, there is everything to live for. His coming sets us free from our past and allows us to wake to each new day as a fresh start of an open future. In this New Year let each of us set about fulfilling one small and manageable hope for the future – and then we’ll find God opening yet another door of opportunity to us. We can expect the delights of the unexpected!
Christ is indeed born into the world, and it’s that fact that allows us to greet one another with confidence and say, “Happy New Year!”
+Laurie
Acting Bishop of Chelmsford
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