Liz Wood

Dear friend,

At least once in the past few days you have probably been asked if you have any New Year’s Resolutions. Perhaps you are planning to give up a bad habit or take up a new one that you think will make you healthier or wealthier or wiser. These attempts are often short-lived – apparently a third of resolutions are abandoned by January 17th! And yet many of us still make these promises to ourselves every New Year, convinced that this time we will crack the code. Perhaps the true value lies not in the resolution, but in the self-reflection and evaluation that precedes it, in the process of realizing that there is an aspect of our lives that we want to change. And perhaps, instead of applying this just to the more superficial aspects of our lives – what we eat, how often we go to the gym, whether we read enough or watch too much tv – we can direct this self-reflection more thoughtfully to things that matter more – are we devoting our time, our energy, our resources in ways that honor God? Are we striving to live a life that is more Christ-like? There’s a saying in business that “hope is not a strategy” – to make things happen, we need to take action, to have a plan, to measure our progress. In today’s gospel the shepherds “went with haste” to find Mary and Joseph and to see Jesus. And after that, they went on to tell everyone they could about what they had seen. They took action.
Instead of making 2020 the year we vow to drink less coffee, or run 5 miles a day, let’s make it a year in which we use every day to act urgently to revisit the birth of Christ and tell other people about it. Let’s reflect on the things we can do to deepen our relationship with God and with each other. And let’s take action.

There’s a verse I love and share with friends every New Year’s Day. It’s the second stanza of a poem by Philip Appleman:

But I’ve had enough
of turning to look back, the old
post-morteming of defeat:
people I loved but didn’t touch,
friends I haven’t seen for years,
strangers who smiled but didn’t speak – failures,
failures. No,
I refuse to leave it at that, because
somewhere, off camera,
January is coming like Venus
up from the murk of December, re-
virginized, as innocent
of loss as any dawn. Resolved: this year
I’m going to break my losing streak,
I’m going to stay alert, reach out,
speak when not spoken to,
read the minds of people in the streets.
I’m going to practice every day,
stay in training and be moderate
in all things.
All things but love.

Happy New Year!
Elizabeth Wood