A Prayer for the New Year
Great God, if we were to look at our collective year in review, we would find much that is praiseworthy. We have had the joy of welcoming new life. We’ve completed degree programs, started new careers and entered into retirement. We have recovered from illness, greeted pleasant surprises and found resilience in the midst of challenging circumstances. We’ve carried out our vocation. We’ve fulfilled obligations. We’ve revived old initiatives and started new ones. We have given of our time, talent, and treasure. We’ve made a difference. We have connected with our friends in the work of love and liberation in our community and around the world. We’ve encountered some extraordinary people. We have borne witness to laughter and love. How could we not give thanks to you, to each other, and to whatever forces collaborated and organized to see that this year brought us some joy?!
Since we’re in church, we’ll be honest enough to acknowledge that this year also dealt some blows. We’ve seen conflicts erupt into wars resulting in massive casualties; an increasing inability to reason with one another; and more threats to democracy. We have endured the loss of employment, the loss of relationships, and the loss of loved ones. We’ve had some devastating news, and some difficult diagnoses. We have had to defer some dreams, change some plans and release some commitments. We’ve been hurt and disappointed, and we’ve been the source of pain and disappointment. In this year, we have had trouble.
And when the clock strikes midnight, there is a sense in which nothing will be fundamentally different. The next year will be filled with more of the same–joy and pain, news that will knock us to the ground and pronouncements that will renew our hope. But marking the passing of time–setting a boundary between the past and present–reminds us of the infinite possibility of the next moment. Since anything can happen, as this past year was so apt to teach us, may the dawning of the new year give us the creative space to see new visions and dream new dreams for our lives within the shared existence of all creation. May we set both our intentions and our efforts toward this vision and put our trust in you–the power at work in us that is able to accomplish immeasurably more than we can ask or think.
Amen.
