Holy God:
We thank you for another day. On this Sunday, we thank you for another year. We set aside the failures and disappointments of a year past. we set aside, also, the victories and joys of the past. We are grateful for both the good and the bad that has come, for how you have used it and for all we have learned. We are grateful that you have brought us through even to this day. You have been faithful. We thank you for your faithfulness.
But we will not live in a past that has already ceased to exist. We live in the present of this day. This day and this year are full of concerns and anxieties, but they are also full of hope and opportunity. A change in the calendar is a sign of what is always before us--an opportunity through your cross and your son and your spirit to experience a new beginning. Open our hearts to see a new world of your grace, and new kingdom of love.
Above all, open our hearts to see your son, to see in him the perfect expression of your heart. You have left the glory of heaven to become a frail and humble human being so that we might see just how much you desire to be with us. You meet us in our homes, our families, our workplaces, and schools. You are with us in our lives’ transitions--births, deaths, marriages, graduations, divorces, moves, promotions, retirements. You are with us in our anxieties and our celebrations, our laughter and our tears. The coming of your son shows us that you are with us and shows us who you are when you show up.
So open our eyes to see him afresh, to see him everywhere and always. Let all of our lives be about him and for him. May we desire to know nothing but him, and to know everything else we know in the light of his glory and grace. May our lives reflect him. May the world, the community, each person we meet know the heart of God a little better because they have seen the face of Jesus in the way we have reflected his glory.
Amen.
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