A New Year, New Decade, New Century, New Millennium!
Dearly beloved,
At the beginnings and ends of years, we try to pick
out and discern the signs of the times – τα
σημεια των
κερων!! During the year of 1999, we heard and
observed many TV programs or rea
d newspaper
articles pertaining to the people and events of the past century. The
media was seeking key events that would unlock the past. Television
networks and newspapers featured or quoted so-called pundits who
"read" or "interpreted" these key events as
significant signs of the times which would somehow explain the past and
predict the future.
When John the Baptist wanted to be sure that Christ is
"he who is to come, or shall we look for another", Jesus
replies by pointing out the signs of the times. And what were those
signs? "…the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers
are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor
have good news preached to them." Christ still replies in the same
way.
For those of us who celebrate the Birth of Christ,
Christmas signifies the closing of the 2000 years since Christ’s
incarnation, His appearance on earth. As the Christmas season of 1999
draws to a close and the new year begins, we are reminded of our journey
into another year and another century, of our individual path which we
alone will tread. Life is a pilgrimage, a long journey, but we need not
necessarily travel alone, fumbling in darkness in search of our
destination. Nor do we need to follow the predictions of those
television or other pundits. We have Christ and His Gospel to guide us.
He shows us the wider world and the many and varying circumstances of
joy and sorrow in which we encounter Him. The new year calls for us to
look around and search for the Lord who is in our midst, in situations
where previously we were unaware of His presence. What are His signs?
The signs of Christ will be found in people and places where we least
expect and at times when we are least prepared to discern them. There
are the lonely, angry, and depressed, the ill and the bereaved, the poor
and the abused. They can be found everywhere: in poor neighborhoods,
war-ravaged areas, and even in our midst at work, in our community, or
even in our church. We encounter Christ in joyous circumstances: in our
good health, in having our families around us, in sharing fellowship
with friends, in being able to gather freely to worship Him, and in
countless blessing that we receive from Him daily.
God, who revealed Himself to us in the person of His
Son, Jesus Christ, is inviting us to follow Him during the coming new
year, new century, and new millennium. We are being asked to discover
anew His divine light, bear it in our hearts, and let it shine through
us to others. We need to project this divine light of Christ with words
and actions of charity and justice. The Gospel of Christ which is the
gospel of love, forgiveness and redemption is our sign for the new year
and which we must continue to reveal to the world always.
Happy New Year!
Father John
