Christmas 8. 1 January 2014

image by Felipe Wiecheteck

by Pastor Eric Thompson

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.

Exodus 12:1-2, ESV

The ancient Hebrew calendar doesn't align well with our modern Gregorian calendar. When God gave Moses and Aaron these instructions he was about to bring about the Passover--the night when the blood on the doorpost protected the households of his people from the judgment being brought upon the Egyptians. The Passover was to be the beginning of their year. Unlike our New Year that begins in the winter, Passover is observed in the spring--corresponding closely with our Easter. Modern Jews typically observe Rosh Hashanah as the beginning of their civic year, which usually falls in September.

Why did God want their year to begin with the Passover remembrance? Why would he care when they marked the beginning of a new year?

One thing that seems clear from the Old Testament is how God fashioned his creation with time as a critical element. The eternal God made the marking of time a vital part of his created order. The evening and the morning were the first day. He put lights in the sky to show the times and seasons. Every seventh day was a sabbath. Every seventh year was a sabbath year. Every seven sabbath years brought about a Year of Jubilee. All of these were aimed toward relationship and restoration. People were to rest, at home, with their families. The land was to rest. Debts were cancelled. Lands reverted to their ancestral heirs. Servitude was abolished.

We may not observe our new year on the same schedule, but the dawn of 2014 is an opportunity to do what they did at Passover that marked the beginning of their year. We can remember what God has done, both in the grand scheme of redemption in history as well as in the smaller details of our lives and our families. We can use the advance of time to remember that God is moving everything toward a certain, glorious end. We can spend a day of rest with family and friends. We set ourselves anew to give witness to the redemptive and restorative work that God is doing by dedicating ourselves to loving, helping, and building others in the coming year. We can take advantage of a new beginning. How great would it be if the end of 2014 included rejoicing over a substantial victory over some bondage in your life or the restoration of a vital relationship! Let's live a life that tells a better story this year, one that reflects God's goodness, God's heart, and God's promises.

Take some time to consider the following. Perhaps it would be helpful to record your responses in a journal.

If you haven't already, take some time to complete the survey we talked about this past Sunday. It will give you an opportunity to reflect on the year just completed and contemplate how God might be at work in and through you in the one ahead.

Here is a prayer in response to today's text. You can pray this as your own or use it as a prompt for a spontaneous prayer.

Father, the end of a year and the beginning of another are yet more ways we can see your faithfulness. You promised Noah that seasons of time would continue, and they do. You gave us periods of time in order that we recall your great works, set aside whatever belongs in the past, and look forward to all you have promised. We enter a new year knowing you are already there. We can love, live, and work without fear knowing we will face nothing in the months ahead that cancels your plans or negates your grace. Help all of us, your people, to tell your story in a more compelling way than ever before through our words and actions soaked through with your love. Thank you for the rest you are giving your people.