From the Second Letter to the Corinthians:
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
(From the Daily Office Lectionary – 2 Cor. 5:16-17 (NRSV) – December 31, 2012.)
New Year’s Eve and our epistle lesson in the Daily Office lectionary focuses on the old passing away and everything becoming new. It’s purely serendipitous, but what an opportunity to affirm our faith in God’s on-going and constant re-creation of the world.
Yesterday on the radio program On Being the guest, a physicist, made note of the fact that change is the only universal constant. He made reference to what he called “the univeral law of impermanence.”
We make a big deal of change on the New Year. We look back at the year past and celebrate or bemoan its major events. We make resolutions (most of which aren’t kept) of changes we will make in the coming year. But, truth be told, the changing of the calendar from one year to the next is a purely arbitrary event! There really is nothing that makes this day any different than the one before or the one after or any day any time during any year. Every day is an opportunity for change and improvement!
Everyday the old passes away! Everyday everything becomes new!
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Father Funston is the rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Medina, Ohio.
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